The George McDougall Mustangs’ varsity girls soccer team was hoping to be in the big game, but was still happy to win bronze in a thrilling 4-3 penalty shootout win over the Bert Church Chargers.
The Mustangs claimed third place in the Rocky View Sports Association with the win at Airdrie’s Monklands Park on Oct. 14. The team could have gone to the South Central Zone tournament last weekend in Drumheller, but decided to forego the opportunity and end its season on a winning note.
“That was a big, dramatic finish,” said Mustangs’ head coach Stephanie Malo. “I was never sold at all during the shootout, although I knew we had the skill to beat them.”
“Shootouts can go either way, so we’re just really happy and proud of our team,” said Chargers’ head coach Alison Young. “It was an exciting game the whole way through.”
Mustangs’ keeper Shelby Long scored the clinching goal on George Mac’s fifth of five shots during the shootout, after the Chargers’ fifth shooter Stephanie Hogberg’s shot went wide.
The first three shooters of each team scored, before the Mustangs’ Bethany Jonker hit the crossbar and Chargers’ forward Alyssa Goutsis sailed one over the bar.
Two days earlier, George Mac lost to Springbank 3-1 in the semi-final to get to the bronze game, while Bert Church lost 5-0 to Cochrane in the other semi.
In the third place game, George McDougall controlled play for much of the first half, and was rewarded when Mackenzie Grieve tapped in teammate Ayla Weemaels’ shot to put the Mustangs up 1-0 in the 37th minute.
Goutsis tied the game for Bert Church, in the 54th minute, on a great individual effort. The teams then traded chances for 40 minutes, before the shootout was required to settle the stalemate.
“We didn’t come out strong right away, but we made a choice right away that we wanted to win,” Young said. “We had lots of options at the net. Unfortunately we weren’t strong enough on our strikes. I was really hoping for a final punch (before the end of regulation).”
“Bert Church is a team that is really able to capitalize on little mistakes that we made,” Malo said.
“We’re happy with the win, but we would have liked to be playing in the other game. We had a few hiccups during the season, including our tie to Bert Church the first time, so it’s a lesson to learn for the girls. It took some time for the girls to get accustomed to my coaching style, but we have a style that really works for us now and I think next year it will get even better.”
“There were no tears or unhappy faces,” Young said. “Everyone was smiling and I was proud of the way they played. If they had a bad game, they might have been upset with the finish, but they all played fantastic.”
