Wednesday marked day 1 of the U18 National Championship. With temperatures reaching heights of 37 degrees, the teams battled through the heat as well as their opponents. With all the teams playing at least 1 game today, everyone had a chance to prove their worth.
In game 1 Alberta took on Ontario Red. In the 9th minute Jaslan Stirling opened up the scoring after finishing off a well worked field goal. Emily Hong was able to find the back of the net in the 24th, 47th, and 50th minute for Ontario Red to finish with a hat trick. When the final whistle came, Ontario Red was able to take the victory 6-0 to put their stamp on the top of pool A.
In the second match PEI took on BC Yellow. BC Yellow was able to find the back of the net early with Marina Ellison as she deflected in a nice cross from the baseline. PEI goalkeeper Jacklyn MacKinnon made countless saves to keep BC Yellow at bay. A total of 7 BC Yellow players were able to score to take an 11-0 victory.
Game 3 featured Ontario White and BC Blue. Ontario White opening the scoring in the 30th minute as Louise Limoges tipped in a hard shoot by Victoria Van Sickle. BC Blue was able to equalize in the 36th minute as Emily Wong found the back of the net on a nice field goal. BC Blue was able to capitalize 2 more times in the 46th and 69th minutes to take a 3-1 victory.
The fourth game of the day brought together Alberta and PEI. Bria Bentley opened the scoring for Alberta in the 6th minute. Six other Albertans were able to finish as they took an 8-1 victory. The lone PEI goal came through Sarah Sear finished off a stroke after a breakdown tackle in the Alberta D.
Game 5 featured BC Yellow and Ontario Red. As a large crowd was there to support the hometown girls, Ontario Red opened the scoring in the 16th minute with Madeline Osgarby. She went on to score 2 more goals for the 2nd hat trick of the day. Ontario Red took the victory 6-0 and heads into the 2nd day atop pool A.
The final game of the day was one of the premier matched that had BC Blue taking on rivals BC White. The game was very back-and-fourth, as both teams were looking to create offensive chances. BC Blue found the back of the net in the 1st minute as captain Bria Ricker smashed a shot past the left hand side of the keeper. BC White equalized in the 10th as Madeleine Shandro finished off a goal mouth scramble in front of keeper Robin Fleming. The game finished 5-1 in favor of BC Blue.
Schedule for Thursday, July 28th
8:00am – Pool A: Ontario Red vs PEI
9:45am – Pool A: Alberta vs BC Yellow
11:30am – Pool B: Ontario White vs BC White
3:00pm – 1st Pool B vs 4th Pool A
4:45pm – 2nd Pool A vs 3rd Pool B
6:30pm – 2nd Pool B vs 3rd A
