In the closest match yet in the Rocky View Sports Association’s (RVSA) high-school girls’ soccer league, the Bert Church Chargers and the W.H. Croxford Cavaliers played to a 1-1 draw Sept. 19 at Monklands Park.
In a league that is quickly starting to show differences in experience, as evidenced by some highly one-sided scorelines, the close-fought battle marked the RVSA’s first tie of the season.
“It was a good competition and seemed pretty even,” said Chargers coach Andrew Kirk. “They had the first part of the game under control, and towards the end, we started controlling the ball. We put a lot of pressure on them in the second half, but we just couldn’t convert. They had a couple of misses in the first, so it worked out well.”
After a scoreless first half, the Cavaliers struck first shortly after the restart. Grade-11 midfielder Kadie Johnston latched onto a through-ball from Mikayla Cashato before calmly slotting it into the bottom corner.
“As a team, our passing is amazing – we know where [to find] each other and we have a good connection,” Johnston said. “Everyone is supportive of one another. If you make a mistake, no one gets down on you for it.”
Not wanting the game to slip away, Bert Church poured players forward in search of the equalizer. The Chargers’ attacking efforts paid off in the 65th minute, when Grade-12 Jocelyn Pierce struck a long-range shot that clipped off the crossbar into the top corner, following a cross from the right wing.
“It was a really nice shot, but what made that play really nice for me was how [it] developed,” Kirk said. “We advanced the ball out wide, made a nice little play and then had a cross into [Pierce]. She just nailed it.”
Neither team managed to find the back of the net during the remainder of the game, meaning each left the pitch with a share of the points.
“It was definitely a very close game,” said Alyssa Grieve, a senior midfielder for Bert Church. “Both teams put in a lot of effort and it was hard to call.”
The result means W.H. Croxford and Bert Church currently sit third and fourth, respectively, in the RVSA standings. Bert Church has a 1-1-1 record, as of Sept. 22, while W.H. Croxford is still unbeaten with a 1-0-1 record.
Bert Church came into the match on the heels of a 12-0 blanking of the George McDougall Mustangs two days prior.
“The overall atmosphere of the team is really good,” Grieve said. “All the girls are super positive and willing to work hard. We put that effort in every game.”
W.H. Croxford, meanwhile, is looking to repeat its success of last season, when the team finished fourth in the RVSA. Johnston, who was on the team last year, said she feels the team can surpass that achievement.
“Our team’s skill is much better this year,” she said, adding many of the Cavaliers players also participate in competitive club teams in Airdrie or Calgary.
“I think it’s going to be a great year.”
The two teams returned to action at Monklands Park Sept. 24 (after press time), and will be on the road Sept. 26. The Cavaliers will face the unbeaten Cochrane Cobras, while the Chargers will battle with the fifth-place Chestermere Lakers.
George McDougall, still without a point after three games, will be searching for its first win of 2019 that afternoon against the Bow Valley Bobcats, in Cochrane.
