British Columbia captures Women’s Gold at 2013 Canada Summer Games

 

All the pieces were in place for Quebec to make history at the 2013 Canada Summer Games.
A talented team, partisan home crowd and the opportunity to capture the province’s first gold medal built the stage.
Too bad a British Columbia buzzsaw razed it to the ground.
In the end, British Columbia continued its dominance in the women’s soccer competition at the Canada Summer Games winning its fifth gold medal in six tournaments, dating back to first tournament in 1993.
It was the second consecutive occasion British Columbia had beaten Quebec to capture gold. Different place, different players, but this one stung for Quebec.
Jessie Symons’ team showed tremendous determination and resiliency led by firecracker Samantha Dion, whose relentless drive was a microcosm of the total team effort and never-say-die attitude displayed by the western Canadians throughout the tournament.
“I can’t even describe how happy I am and I just think everybody gave 100 per cent and we all worked our butts off and it resulted in a win. Everybody gave 100 per cent and that’s why we won,” said, Dion, who scored twice in the deciding game and still had enough energy to lead her team’s celebration procession.
“We all play for each other, it’s not individual, I think it’s a bit different than other provinces. We all play for each other, we are all grinders we all just get in there and win every tackle. I think we have a special bond.”
Twice British Columbia had rallied from deficits in the medal round to win, first beating Alberta in the medal round and Ontario in the semifinals, steeling the resolve of a team that grew stronger with each game.
That proved to be too much for a Quebec team, which, arguably, had the easier journey to the final overwhelming Saskatchewan in two straight games before dispatching Manitoba and Nova Scotia. In the semifinal, Nova Scotia exposed cracks in Quebec’s game showing the host’s indecisiveness on the ball.
That provided British Columbia with enough ammunition and they capitalized when it mattered most behind the pressure of Seina Kashima, the probing runs of Canadian U-17 National Team striker Jasmin Dhanda and the strong defense of U-17 defender Amanpreet Shergill
British Columbia speed forced Rudy Doliscat’s team into an alarming number of turnovers that handed British Columbia a two-goal lead. To their credit, Quebec came back drawing even on goals by U-17 National Team players Amandine Pierre-Louis and Valerie Sanderson, but couldn’t get an equalizer after conceding the third goal, against a British Columbia team that were faster, more disciplined and hungrier.
“These kids have worked so hard for this,” said Symons. “We had to go through Alberta, then Ontario and now Quebec in three days in a row and they kept fighting and pushing and to play five games in six days and to really push through each match full credit to them to be the national champions at the Canada Games.”
Ontario took the bronze over Nova Scotia, but Bryan Rosenfeld’s team struggled throughout the tournament with poor finishing and a lack of discipline in its positioning. They had just enough to beat a game Nova Scotia, but the Atlantic Canadians, despite the loss, were one of the tournament’s nice stories.
Last Sunday, they smashed scoring records piling on 17 goals against Yukon in a group stage match, setting the new mark for most goals in one game. In that game, Sope Akindoju and Chloe Brennan tied the record for most goals in a game (4) set earlier in the day by Newfoundland’s Meghan Earle in her team’s 9:0 win over Prince Edward Island.
Nova Scotia coach, and former Canadian national team player, Cindy Tye would have welcomed a couple of those goals against Ontario, but couldn’t contain her emotions after the bronze medal loss to Ontario praising her team for their performance despite facing provinces with larger player registration bases.
“They were awesome, these kids were awesome like we come from a place where we only get 25 to 30 kids who try out for the team and they’re (other teams) coming from regions with hundreds,” said Tye. “For these kids to come together and do what they did is absolutely amazing and I’m proud of them.”
Rounding out the finishers in order were Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward, New Brunswick and Yukon.
The medal winners were the favourites coming into the tournament, but started slow with modest wins. But the goals eventually came as players looked to stand and potentially impress national team coaches.
Earle and New Brunswick’s Noemi Mallet tied for lead in tournament scoring with six goals followed by Dion, Kashima, Ontario’s Andrea Petrina and Pierre-Louis with five each. Akindoju, Brennan and Sanderson completed the top three with four goals each.
The strong play of U-17 players Dhanda, Shergill, Pierre-Louis and Sanderson is a good sign for Canada’s Women’s U-20 National Team coach Andrew Olivieri, who was in attendance for the semifinals and medal matches.
Olivieri will select the roster for next year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014, and the four could receive the honour of representing Canada on the international stage at home.
The Games have helped produce the likes of Diana Matheson, Erin McLeod and Rhian Wilkinson. Time will tell whether these four will make their mark for Canada in the years to come.