The Interior Victoria May long weekend usually marks the first sunburns for the Sunshine Coast women's tournament travelling soccer team the Sun Coasters.
Thirty teams including 12 in the open men's and women's recreational divisions and six in the open women's division took part in the golden anniversary of what is believed to be the longest continuously running soccer tourney in Canada the 50th annual Pacific Western Brewery soccer tournament.
In the opening game, Sun Coasters played Coquitlam Metro Ford. Both teams came out strong, with Sun Coasters winning 3-0 on goals from Ginny Blattler, Ashley Taylor and Nadine Slingerland, who scored the third goal from a bobbled ball from their keeper's hand.
The second game against North Shore Storm resulted in another win, 4-0.
One of the prettiest goals scored came from Taylor's cross onto Laura Dixon's rocket left foot. Amy Campbell, Kara McDonnell and Cubby Elson battled for every ball. Solid defending came from Slingerland and from Janice Hendrickson, who flew down from Prince George to play with her teammates.
The Sun Coasters then moved onto the playoff round and a tough physical match in the heat against Surrey SOL late on Sunday afternoon saw a 3-3 tie late in the second half. This had the Sun Coasters pushing for the winner, with some dazzling tic-tac-toe from Campbell, Tara Sweet and Blattler, who found Sara Schutz, who tucked it neatly in the net for a critical 4-3 win to put the Sun Coasters into the finals.
A beautiful Monday Victoria Day morning saw a very competitive final game with Vancouver Westside. Both teams had a bit of trouble dealing with the fatigue and typical bruises and muscle aches from a tournament. The entire match saw chance after chance slip by as the Sun Coasters were unable to capitalize on their myriad opportunities, as Westside won 1-0.
Taylor provided great offence with her speed and finishing ability. Of the 11 goals scored, Taylor scored five and assisted on five. Ellen Thomas and Carla Paetkau were tenacious and versatile. These women can play almost any position on the field and can be both solid defenders and an offensive threat.
A rotation of goalkeepers Danielle Heguy, Thomas and Sully Sullivan went the distance in each contest, earning themselves a couple shutouts.
The Gibsons Pigs also played in the tournament and narrowly missed a spot for the playoffs due to injuries suffered by three key players.
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