A poet once wrote "Oh, to be in England now that April's here."
Well, it couldn't have been any better than last weekend on the Coast as beautiful weather contributed to a dandy Women's Soccer League year-end tournament.
Kara McDonnell started Saturday off with a hat trick as CAL'S Crushers dropped Welcome Woods Wild 3-0.
On the second field at Shirley Macey Park, LJ Contracting's Fusion edged Gibsons Pigs 1-0 in a game that set the scene for things to come.
The rest of the day saw Xenichen Ya Yas, Blazers and IGA Blacks join in to provide some exciting football dominated by strong defenses, great goal-tending and lots of hard running.
The end of the day saw five teams with the same number of wins. The positioning for the trophy round was settled by points for ties, losses and goals.
Sunday started with second-place Blacks playing seventh-place Wild. The first-year Wild squad had not won a game all season, but they were full of fire on Sunday. Regular season champion Blacks had their hands full.
Blacks took the lead, but late in the second half Wild evened the score. They played at 1-1 for the rest of the game and overtime. Wild pushed Blacks to match their goals, then it was goalkeeper Jen Van Every's turn to shoot in the shootout. She hit a gem, and Wild had the win. What a way to break the opposition's heart. The goalkeeper stops them cold in goal then puts them away in the shootout.
At the same time, Ya Yas got two goals from Kristina Joe to advance past Pigs 2-0.
Blazers and Fusion took a 1-1 score into overtime with Blazers moving on with a sudden-death goal and a 2-1 win.
The Crushers earned first place in the round robin, so they had a bye in the first round of trophy play.
A fresh Crushers team managed to score two goals against a determined Blazers squad to move to the final.
On the other field, Ya Yas had their work cut out to get past a hard-working Wild team that sensed a chance for another upset.Ya Yas forwards found the solution and moved on to the final with a 1-0 win. The smooth-passing Crushers faced the Ya Yas knowing full well they would have a challenge ahead.
Ya Yas strong and skillful midfield and forwards gave Crushers defense a handful of worry, but Crushers speed at the back was the solution.
Tara Sullivan at left back was just what Crushers needed to contain Ya Yas premier striker, Joe. Ya Yas Sara Agnew at centreback controlled the play as Crushers tried to break through. Finally a stumble and a break as Kara McDonnell slammed the ball into the net and Crushers had the goal they needed.
Ya Yas stepped up their game for the equalizer, but Crushers played a smart possession game and were rewarded with the 1-0 win and the trophy. This was a quality game with both teams worthy of the hardware. Only one thing put a damper on the final.
Ya Yas Eliza August stumbled on a soft patch of ground. She fell over the ball and went down in much pain. It was serious enough for the medics to take her to hospital. The diagnosis was a double break and she was transferred to Lions Gate Hospital Sunday evening.
A four-hour operation was performed and now it will be a long healing process.
August is made of good stock and she has the strength of character of the grandmother for whom she was named. We'll see you in September giving the rest of the league fits. Get well soon.
