Game 5: British Columbia vs. Guyana 14-0 (6-0)
With the first game of the morning, the Western powerhouse showed their dominance over Guyana in a convincing 14-0 fashion. An own goal that came from a Dani Hennig cross opened the scoring in the opening minute of play. Following, Natalie Sourisseau sparked a series of dangerous attacks, potting one of her own and nicely setting up Poonam Sandhu for the next.BC continued to pour on the offensive pressure, testing Guyana’s keeper Nathalie Hing. The BC side grabbed a 6-0 lead entering the break.
In the second half, BC continued to maintain possession, moving the ball around the back field and being patient with their attack. Hannah Haughn opened up the second-frame scoring, eliminating a defender on her reception and finishing with a well struck back hand shot. Shanlee Johnson followed up with a straight strike on a penalty corner to give the BC side an 8-0 advantage.
Guyana improved their structure by creating a lot of forward and midfield interchange and leaning on center midfielder and Mississauga native Leigh Sandison. The BC team proved their strength and continued on as both Sandhu and Haughn tallied three goals, while six others contributed. With the 14-0 victory, BC moves to the top of the standings with six points.
Goal Scorers
BC: Poonam Sandhu (3), Hannah Haughn (3), Steph Gardiner (2), Crystal Poland (1), Dani Hennig (1), Nat Sourisseau (1), Shanlee Johnston (1), Emma Mackie (1)
Game 6: Ontario vs. Alberta 9-1 (6-0)
The Ontario senior team picked up their second win of the tournament with a comfortable 9-1 victory over Alberta. In only the 3rd minute of play, Brienne Stairs finished on a penalty corner to give the home side the lead. Three other Ontario players found the back of the net, including two from Fiona Downey, to push the scoreline to six entering the break.
Team Canada’s Krissy Wishart and Kate Gillis led the charge in the midfield for Ontario, where they were neutralized by Alberta’s Marian Dickinson. Dickinson was the lone goal scorer for Alberta, finishing on a penalty stroke in the 55th minute. Stairs and Wishart picked up an additional goal before the end of the game to give Ontario the 9-1 victory. Ontario are now tied in pool play with BC with two wins and six points in the tournament.
Goal Scorers
ONT: Brienne Stairs (3), Fiona Downey (3), Katelynn Roganowicz (1), Anna Easty (1), Kaelan Watson (1), Krissy Wishart (1)
ALB: Marian Dickinson (1)
Game 7: British Columbia vs. Ontario U23 3-1 (2-0)
The BC side came out firing for their second game of the day but Ontario goalkeeper Emily Corbett was up for the challenge, making a series of saves in the opening minutes. Stephanie Gardner broke the deadlock in the 16th minute. Ontario had speed up front applying pressure to the BC back field but Crystal Poland slotted in a cracker of a goal to give BC the 2-0 edge entering the break.
Ontario’s Alison Lee made several solid tackles and was the key distributor for the home side, while Adrienne and Erin Houle were the speedsters up front doing most of the damage.
In the second half, the BC side relaxed a little, giving Ontario an opportunity to capitalize on the counter attack. The pressure up front paid off as Tegan Stairs did all the hard work on the right side of the circle and floated a pass across the goalmouth to a diving Erin Houle. Houle slid with perfect timing to deflect the ball past BC keeper Kaitlyn Williams and cut the lead to one.
Moments later Stairs was in a similar situation and almost found Houle again at the far post but Houle couldn’t connect. The BC side regrouped and reset their structure allowing Poland to pick off an Ontario outlet pass on the right side. Poland powered her way to the top of the circle and with ease hit a well-struck back hand shot to give BC the 3-1 final scoreline.
Goal Scorers
BC: Crystal Poland (2), Steph Gardiner (1)
ONT U23: Erin Houle (1)
Game 8: CAN U21 vs. Ontario 2-1
Team Canada set the tempo from the opening whistle, as captain’s Karli Johansen and Sara McManus did well to swiftly transfer the ball through the back field. Despite several rushes towards the circle, it took 33 minutes before Canada was able to get on the board.
Ontario’s Lauren Logush was a big presence in the net, while the defensive experience of Angela Lancaster and Kaelan Watson seemed to keep the young Canadian squad at bay. Canada did grab the lone first-half goal on a penalty corner that was sent low and hard to the far post for Caashia Karringten to tip in past Logush. The 1-0 lead was all the Canadian squad could relish, as the Ontario defence line stood strong.
In the second half, Canada seemed to relax a bit, causing a few unforced errors. The Ontario side was quick to capitalize, choosing their moments to pressure the Canada backfield. Despite Ontario’s efforts, the Canadians were able to repeat their first-half goal with a nearly identical option on a 46th minute penalty corner. Karringten lifted Canada’s lead to two but it didn’t seem to phase Ontario.
Midfielders Kate Gillis and Krissy Wishart continued to feed Brienne Stairs up front but and were able to break through in the 58th minute. Stairs was there to put in the goal, cut the lead to one and keep Ontario in the game. Canada did well to fend off a few additional Ontario rushes and in the final minutes were able to maintain possession to grab on to the 2-1 victory.
Goal Scorers
CAN: Caashia Karringten (2)
ONT: Brienne Stairs (1)
