An ending worthy of a championship.
Okotoks United struck back for three unanswered goals to secure a 4-4 tie and tournament championship in thrilling fashion as winners of the U18 girls division at the inaugural United Communities Cup Sunday at the Crescent Point Regional Field House.
“I just said to the girls before the game ‘you’ve gone through the last two games with great intensity and amazing energy and to keep that going,” said Okotoks U18 head coach Peter Mundy. “We were a bit nervous to begin with, a few sloppy goals in the first half against us.
“It was an amazing comeback. The girls really focused in the second half for an absolutely brilliant result.”
Needing either a win or a tie to sew up top-spot, Okotoks found itself behind the eight-ball with Medicine Hat netting two goals in succession to build a commanding 4-1 lead late in the first-half.
Their opponents swiftly had something to say about that.
“I was panicking,” said midfielder Alysia King. “I wasn’t really helping out, but then I thought I should calm everybody down.”
King secured her second of three goals in the half on a direct free-kick, taking a pass from captain Kate Mundy and hammering it into the back of the net. She then stepped up minutes later and made no mistake on a penalty kick to put Okotoks down 4-3 and within striking distance at halftime.
“Me and Kate do that all the time,” King said. “I just ran into the slow space.
“And that third goal gave us the belief that we could tie it or win.”
In a second half-stalemate, Okotoks made the breakthrough with a little offence from its defence. Defender Megan Flegel found a seam, rushed the ball up the length of the field and fired a shot on goal creating a rebound for Mundy to tap into the open net.
“We just had to work as a team. In our league games we’ve been going individual,” said King, a Holy Trinity Academy student. “This means a lot. We’ve been doing not that well in season so winning a tournament at home was really important.”
Okotoks gave itself every opportunity to win gold due largely to its tremendous start to the tournament.
The team blanked Blizzard United 8-0 and dispatched the eventual silver medallists Airdrie FC by a 5-1 count in round-robin in the Tier 2 division.
“The (Airdrie) game was probably our best of the season,” the coach added. “The passing, the movement, the energy was absolutely superb. You can’t ask for much more as a coach. There are some Grade 12 girls in here focusing on examinations and other things going on outside soccer and sometimes the brains aren’t always switched on.
“This weekend I think we turned that corner and saw that spark again.”
The U18 squad was joined on the podium by a pair of club counterparts on championship Sunday in the 66-team tournament.
Okotoks United took silver in the U16 Tier 2 division after winning its finale 3-1 over Airdrie FC to clinch the number-two spot. Okotoks finished with a record of 2-1.
A hard fought gold medal game went the way of the visitors in the U14 Tier 2 ranks where Coaldale held off Okotoks 1-0 in a battle of unbeaten teams on Sunday.
Okotoks’ 2-1 record, highlighted by big wins over Blizzard Milano and Foothills, earned the team the silver medal.
For more information on Okotoks United go to okotoksunitedsoccer.ca
