Whitehorse Daily Star

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THE U12 AURORA FC — The Aurora Football Club put on a dominent performance over the weekend in North Vancouver. The team went undefeated through four games, winning all their games by a comfortable margin. Photo submitted by LYNETTE PETERSEN

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GOING FOR GOAL — Cy McDowell (U12) takes aim at the Nemisis net. The Avalanche beat the Nemisis 3-0, with goals scored by McDowell and Vhince Acosta (2). Photo submitted by ANABELLE ACOSTA

Boys and girls soccer teams dominate

The U12 Girls Premier Aurora Football Club travelled to North Vancouver to participate in the 32nd annual North Shore Girls Soccer Championships, the largest all girl soccer tournament in Western Canada.

By John Tonin on October 11, 2018

U12 Girls go undefeated

The U12 Girls Premier Aurora Football Club travelled to North Vancouver to participate in the 32nd annual North Shore Girls Soccer Championships, the largest all girl soccer tournament in Western Canada.

The team, led by head coach Ben Mercier went undefeated in four matches winning, 7-1, 5-0, 7-0 and 4-1. The Aurora FC’s leading goal scorers were Mikayla Shaw and Mia Raymond, but the team saw contributions from all players.

According to Mercier’s notes, “every player that was taken down to the tournament on Saturday played to their strengths and had a positive impact on the game.”

Starting goaltender Kalie Bennett allowed one goal all weekend behind the strong play of the team’s defensive line, which played strong, smart soccer all weekend.

Aurora FC’s final 4-1 victory of the tournament came against last season’s only undefeated team.

The Aurora went down early in the match 1-0 but rallied back strong with four unanswered goals.

Coach Mercier was proud of his team’s effort over the weekend, saying in his notes, “the team showed patience and determination all weekend and improved with every game.”

The undefeated result will help the team’s seeding in the divisions for next year’s tournament. Participation medals were awarded to all teams.

U12 Whitehorse Avalanche takes gold in Burnaby

The Premier U12 Boys fought hard to go undefeated at the Westburn Mini-Gobbler tournament in Burnaby over the Thanksgiving weekend.

The boys started their weekend with a match against the Port Coquitlam Nemisis. The boys dominated from the opening whistle, keeping the action in their opponents end, on their way to a 3-0 victory.

Their second game of the tournament against the CAU Blaze of Burnaby, saw the team face some early adversity. The Blaze came out firing on all cylinders and attacking from all sides, as they scored early and often.

The Avalanche had no answer for the onslaught and were unable to make a successful counter to the Blaze attack.

Discouragement set in as the Avalanche saw themselves down 4-0 at half time.

Heading into the second, the Avalanche came to life, after head coach Drew Whittaker told the boys to, “just win the second half.” The Avalanche tallied two early goals. The Blaze then scored an own goal, to make the score 4-3. The boys were able to tally one more goal, and survive a late flurry of attack from the Blaze, led by a strong goalkeeping performance, to preserve the draw.

The games continued Sunday in rainy Vancouver. Whitehorse’s first game of the day came against Whistler. Whitehorse dominated the game from start to finish, winning by a final score of 10-1.

Making it to the final match, Whitehorse played the only other undefeated team, Albion Celtic of Maple Ridge, for the championship. For most of the first half, the game was a defensive affair, with very few shots.

Chirs McCarron broke the stalemate with a breakaway goal. His tally was soon followed by Quinn Mostyn, to give the Avalanche a 2-0 advantage. Vhince Acosta added to the score on a penalty shot in the second half. The Celtic managed to make it a 3-1 game, but were often left feeling dejected and frustrated at their inability to break through the Avalanche defense.

Coach Whittaker said of his team after the game finished, “I really enjoyed coaching this great group of boys, who showed leadership on the field, resiliency to overcome adversity, camaraderie and toughness. I see another strong U15 team in the works.”

U11 Avalanche go 3-1

Playing in the same tournament as the U12 Avalanche, the U11 boys fought their way to a 3-1 record.

“The boys did really well,” said coach Shawn Wood. “The boys were able to execute the game plan, and when they did they dominated. Our defense didn’t allow the other teams into the offensive zone, and it really opened up the field for our forwards. It was the first tournament our team really gelled.”

The Avalanche lost their second game of the tournament, to a team they would admit was technically stronger.

However they took the loss with their heads held high, motivated to become better.

They won their next game by a score of 9-0, and in their last game they were able to overcome a two-goal deficit, rallying back to win the game in the last five seconds of play to secure a 3-2 victory.

“It was a real nail-biter,” said Wood. “It was an all out physical battle, but the boys took things amongst themselves, communicated on the field and got it done. The coaches were real proud of the victory.”

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