With the autumn leaves falling fast, spooky pumpkins staring back at us and a chill in the air that’s here to stay – what better way to feel alive and excited than to watch a superb game of soccer at the beautiful Cliff Gilker Park in Roberts Creek?
The Sunshine Coast Storm U14 girls soccer club hosted the West Coast FC Wolves on a fine – briefly rainless – Sunday, Oct. 30.
With the strategy laid out and the fans perched on the sidelines, it never let up from the first whistle. The Wolves were fast and very aggressive, pushing the Storm off the ball repeatedly time and again, obviously something the Storm needed to overcome fast because these city clubs are not timid at all.
Some beautiful magic began to emerge and give the Storm some sweet shots on net, only to be echoed by the Wolves with an equal assault on the home field net. This back and forth was truly awesome to watch. The game should have gone in the Storm’s favour as they displayed some fantastic passing sequences leading to some great opportunities on net; however, they were unlucky this day.
At the half it looked as though war had broken out in our peaceful little forested nook as both sides seemed equally determined to make this game memorable.
The defensive tactics of the Storm wouldn’t let the Wolves into their realm but the Storm needed more juice to put one on the board. The Storm’s mid-field continued to be dynamic and adapt to opportunities provided by the Wolves’ lack of focus in the centre field.
The Wolves remained determined with their clear physical dominance and first to the ball ethic, which persisted to the point of putting the first score on the board, 0-1.
This deflates most teams, but seems to have given the Storm permission for an all-out, whole-team-fuelled second-half bonanza of strikes into Wolf territory.
As the fans picked up their jaws from this flurry of great teamwork, it was time for the equalizer and the Storm drove hard for the 1-1 tie goal just to make this day complete. The Storm remain on top of their division in the BC Girls U14 Coastal soccer league.
Every game provides another lesson to be learned, more skills to work on, bruises to be cared for and decisions to be made about strategy by the coaches and the players. All the fans can do is smile, be grateful we have such a dedicated group of soccer players and make sure to be at the next game, because it will be memorable to say the least.
