In their first tournament of the year, since being crowned BC soccer provincial champions this past July, the U14 Powell River Cobras travelled to Port Coquitlam to play in the prestigious PoCo Thanksgiving Weekend tournament.
The girls travelled down on Saturday morning and were ready to play their first match at Terry Fox field at 4:30 pm against Coquitlam. Due to a lack of teams their own age, the girls were scheduled in a division older than them. The Cobras came out firing on all cylinders against the older U15 girls and behind the strong play of Sydney Hanson, Calli-Ann Abbott, Emily White and Elise Hocking cruised to a 4-0 victory.
Sunday morning pitted the Cobras against U15 Surrey Venom. Once again the Powell River girls dominated play and walked away with another 4-0 victory. Leading the way for the Cobras in this match were Allahna Somji, Rachel Horspool, Santana Huetzelmann and Destiny Dendewicz. With this win the Cobras were in the semifinals versus the second-place team from the other side of the draw.
The semifinal was played later that Sunday and saw a very determined U14 North Coquitlam team battle the Cobras every minute of the match. The Cobras looked flat and, although still carrying the play, were stuck in a 0-0 draw at halftime. The second half was better for the girls as they were determined to fight their way into the final on Monday. Strong efforts from Cassidy Ball, Brittany Harry, Ondreah Kristof and Emily Mayenburg helped the Cobras overcome their slow start and post a 2-0 victory.
Monday was a long day as the Cobras had to wait until 3 pm to play their championship game. Their opponents happened to be the Coquitlam U15 girls whom they had beaten on the first day of the tournament. Credit to their opponents as not only did they work hard to get into the final they also played much better than on the opening day.
With rain falling all night and part of the day the grass field was very slick which affected the ball control of both teams. The Cobras controlled most of the game, however they could not find the back of the net until midway through the second half. Scoring the go-ahead goal seemed to help the girls as they continued to take the game to their older opponents. Again, Coquitlam never gave up and provided some last-minute pressure that the Cobras absorbed. Working hard to preserve the win and having their best games of the tournament were Ricci Leitch, Callie McNeil, Sydney Liknes and Braea Mayenburg. The final whistle blew and the Cobras had not only captured the title but they also went through the four games without conceding a goal. Not available to the team for the tournament was MacKenzie Balzan whose grit and determination was missed.
