There have been few bumps during a pretty stellar season, but memories of last year’s traumatic loss in a B.C. final provided enough motivation.
The St. Thomas More Knights were not about to let the same thing happen again.
The senior girls soccer team advanced to its second-straight B.C. AA championship final, with this one ending in a 1-0 victory over Okanagan Mission.
It couldn’t have been a sweeter win, co-coach Doug Corbett said.
“It was a good game for us; we dominated and hit two shots off the crossbar,” he remarked of the final, played in Nelson. “(Okanagan Mission) did apply some pressure in the second half but we had the edge in play. We had multiple chances to build on our lead.”
The lone goal came midway through the first half when striker Kyra Armenta, one of the squad’s seven Grade 10s, buried her opportunity.
A year ago, STM made the same march, only to lose 1-0 in a shootout to L.V. Rogers.
This time around, the Knights were confident in their abilities and teammates, and when the eventual rematch occurred, in the semifinal, they responded.
The Burnaby school edged the host squad 1-0 and moved on to the final, showing that last year’s result was history, not historic.
“It was motivation when we played them (this time),” remarked Corbett, who worked the sidelines along with Carlo Zavarise. “It was great to meet them again in a big game, to get that chance to beat them.”
St. Thomas More had posted a perfect 3-0 record in the round robin, beating Little Flower Academy 2-1, South Kamloops 1-0 and Francis Kelsey 2-0. Five different players supplied the goals, while netminder Lauren Cadiente, another Grade 10, racked up the shutouts.
Picking up the team’s spot on the Commissioners 11 all-star team was team MVP Caileen Corbett, one of eight seniors on the squad.
The Knights rolled through the independent league undefeated, having suffered their lone losses in the season-opening tourney at UBC.
“The girls just came together,” said Corbett. “We train a lot, unlike most high school teams, because our players come from all over the place.
“I knew we had a good chance coming into the season, but it all had to come together. It did.”
The team included: Alicia Aparicio, Kyra Armenta, Carling Bauer, Gabriella Bellini, Daniella Berrettoni, Christina Bordignon, Lauren Cadiente, Isabelle Calinison, Eva Cindric, Caileen Corbett, Kaya Crescenzo, Cassia Di Girolamo, Kayla Hayek, Kaleah Lee, Maryn Lum-Tong, Sienna Mastromonaco, Emily Mattarollo, Mikeala Montagano, Mackenzie Pereira, Vanessa Salzano, Brittany Shuster, Madeleine Simmons and Sara Smithe.
