Senior Girls Soccer Team- Romps to Win 3^rd consecutive South Peel Championship 

by: Ambika Gupta

 Hazel McCallion's previous girls' soccer teams have been described as dedicated, experienced, having excellent skill and fun to be on. They have also been champions for 3 consecutive years.  With 11 returning and 5 new players, everyone expected this year's team to be similar. The only problem was that the tryouts attracted many girls and the coaches Mr. Riddell and
Ms. Scuccato were only able to select a few new players.

The practices went well and the team seemed to be improving. They proved to be ready for the tournament after playing a scrimmage against McCallion's boys soccer team, only losing 3-1.  When October 14th arrived, the team first seemed apathetic, almost as if they expected to win every game. "I was scared, nervous and disappointed," Mr. Riddell admits, "They weren't ready after their warm-up and they had a lack of focus, which is the coach's responsibility."

In their first game against Ruth Thompson, they seemed distracted and for the first ten minutes, the opposition was in the lead. The game improved after left-winger, Ariana Lloyd, blasted the ball into the net. The girls piled on pressure and scored 3 more times. The final result: McCallion 4, Ruth Thompson 1.

  The second game was quite similar to the first as Lisgar was awarded a penalty 5 minutes into the game and scored. Yet again the Hurricanes played tough and showed they were capable of a strong comeback. After picking up their pace and determination, they defeated Lisgar 3-1.

During these two games, Ms. Scuccato remained relaxed, she knew that this team consisted of experienced players whom have been in this situation many times before. Whilst playing their third game in a row, the girls continued their dominance scoring a quick and easy goal against Thomas Street. Another goal was scored during the second half making the score to a one sided 2-0 victory for McCallion.

After a quick break, the girls were ready to play Edenwood, the team that they had to beat in order to play the final game of the tournament. The Hurricanes worked hard and owned the game. Remarkable saves were made by a young grade 7 goalie, Rebecca Babcock. Jessica Beltran, the central defender scored an amazing goal from 25 yards outmaking the final score, McCallion 1, Edenwood 0.
     
         Next, they played Dolphin in their final match. McCallion dominated the game, but just couldn't get the ball into the net. They had the same problem that they had in the Edenwood game and were lucky to have midfield player, Nicole Wedlock on hand to score. She finished off a great move and slotted the ball home to give McCallion a 1-0 lead.  A late goal by hard working striker Alyssa Deslautels sealed the game away. It was a cold day, but the McCallion girls played with their hearts and by virtue of their 4 victories won the South Peel Championship for the fourth year running. Both Mr. Riddell and Ms.Scuccato cannot recall the last time the girls lost a tournament game. In fact. As a coaching partnership, Ms. Scuccato and Mr. Riddell have never lost a competitive game with their teams at Hazel.

Ms. Scuccato says that she always had confidence in them but claims there were times of nervousness. She also always knew that the team had it in them to find a way to overtake the opposition. "The players played exceptionally well. In fact, it's the best we've played for 4 years! Over all, we were far better than all the other teams at the tournament," Mr. Riddell stated. For the past three years, he's expected these teams to win and they have. However, he doesn't expect to win next year. He believes that the junior team is young and just doesn't have the same level of talent as past years teams have had, but he promises that they'll be competitive!

       On the other hand, Mrs. Sccucato expects the same with her new team next year and she knows that they'll have a lot of work to do, "I was
extremely proud of all the players! The players will be greatly missed next year and the grade 7's will have big shoes to fill on and off the field."