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Stampeders take CGSL Cup championship
The team has been working hard all year, with goals in mind that they wanted to reach. First, they wanted to win their division and did so with a record of 11 wins and one loss. They also wanted to win a tournament and did so by capturing two, the Collingwood Invitational and the Heart of York in Newmarket. The Stampeders were also quarter finalists in the West Niagara Invitational, third in West Pioneer in New York (narrowly missing the championship game by one point), as well as second in their respective pools in two other tournaments. The team's last goal was to compete for a League Cup title. This past weekend, it became a reality as they beat Woodbridge (first in Level 1C) 3-1, and Darlington 5-2, to make it to the semi-finals where East York was waiting. The girls started the weekend playing the semifinal game on Saturday morning against East York. The game was hard fought, with play going back and forth. East York opened the scoring with a odd goal that just got by the Innisfil goalkeeper. That seemed to spark the Stampeders, and the girls quickly countered with a nice goal from Yanique Bennett who out ran the East York defense, tapped the ball past the East York keeper and then finished with a strike into an open net. The game continued to be very physical, with both teams not wanting to give an inch. The Stampeders where able to break down the East York defense again with a nice pass form Lauren Allan to Amanda Norrie, who finished into the back of the net to give Innisfil a 2-1 lead at the half. The second half started with Innisfil controlling most of the play and missed on a couple of opportunities. Finally, the Stampeders broke down the left side with Amanda Norrie sending the ball to the front of the net were Kaitlyn Dollimore was there to finish and give Innisfil a 3-1 lead. The second half continued to be a battle back and forth as East York felt the game slipping away and knew that they needed to turn it up to try and get back into it. As the second half came to a close, and with both teams trying to get another goal, East York tallied their second point, but it was a little too late as Innisfil was able to hold off and win the game 3-2. The victory earned Innisfil the right to play in the championship game. The championship took place on Sunday against Newmarket. The Innisfil team knew this was going to be a very hard game as Newmarket and the Stampeders always seems to play tough against each other. The Stampeders had two things on their minds, one was winning the League Cup and the other was getting revenge for the loss that Newmarket (first in the league play) game them two weeks earlier. This game started with both teams moving the ball around and feeling each other out. Innisfil created several chances but could not capitalize on any of them. Newmarket started to fight back with some of their own offence, but could not capitalize either. The game continued with the play flowing back and forth with some nice passing and good aggressive challenges. Finally, Newmarket broke down the Innisfil defense and put a nice shot behind the Innisfil keeper to take a 1-0 lead. Both teams had opportunities to score in the first half, but neither could beat the keepers again, as they stood their ground. The second half started with both teams feeling each other out again, and trying not to make any mistakes knowing that either team could open the game up with a few quick goals. As the game went on, both teams tried to get control. As time ran down, the Innisfil team knew that they needed to tie it or they would lose out on the League Cup. With 24 seconds left, Jayne Guergis took a long shot on goal and was able to put it into the far corner to tie the game at 1-1, sending it to extra time. Newmarket was determined to make one final push to try and get the win back and made a quick attack down the wing and took a nice shot for the top corner, but Innisfil keeper Larissa Aiken made the save just before the whistle blew. The first period of extra time started with Newmarket again putting pressure on Innisfil, trying to crack their defense and after several attempts they scored to take a 2-1 lead. With minutes left in the first extra time, Sabrina Bigras found herself with the ball at the top of the 18-yard box and made a couple of nice moves to clear her self and place a nice shot into the top corner to tie the game 2-2. The first extra period ended with the game tied up. The second half started with both team determined to walk away with the victory, giving everything they had. Neither team could get control of the game for a period of time. Finally, with three minutes left to play, Innisfil won a corner kick. Off of the corner kick, a hand ball occurred in the 18- yard box by a Newmarket player, causing a penalty shot for Innisfil. Kaitlyn Dollimore was asked to step-up and take the shot that might give the Stampeders a lead, their first of the game. Under all of the pressure, Kaitlyn Dollimore was able to bury the shot into the far corner to give Innisfil the lead, 3-2. Newmarket quickly started their attacked and put Innisfil under pressure, but with a quick adjustment into a defensive formation, Innisfil was able to hold off Newmarket for the win and become the 2008 League Cup champions. The team would like to thank the community and businesses for a successful year. The team donated $2,900 to the RVH cancer centre, making the total team donation reach $7,900 for various charities over the last three seasons. If you have a girl born in 1994 or 1995 that would like to tryout for the team, please contact me at 715-3321. Tryouts are Oct. 4th and 5th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on both days at Innisfil Beach Park. There is a $10 tryout fee. |
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