Soccer: No win at Nationals

By Chelsea Jewell [contributor]

After a quick sweep through the Provincial weekend, the Kwantlen Eagles were roaring to go, ready to leave the nest and fly to freezing cold Edmonton. The week went quick leading up to our first game on the opening day, Nov. 11 at the NAIT artificial turf. The Eagles were first up against first time national qualifiers and hosting team, the NAIT Ooks. With below freezing weather and a light practice two days prior to the opening game; the Eagles were off to a slow start. Going down two nothing by the end of the first half, the Eagles needed someone of the starting eleven to step up their game and announce their leadership on the field.

The Eagles entered the field with a new mind set and were ready to claw back and gain some life. A sudden goal by Shanay Sangha put Kwantlen on the board.

The weather was dropping, but the heat on the field continued. With an injury concerning Tara Makrigiannis, the Eagles were given an additional four minutes of injury time. With a corner to the Ook’s keeper’s left, every player was surrounding the eighteen yard box. Shannon Reykdal, nicknamed “mom” managed to distract the keeper long enough for rookie forward Dominique Lang to blast one into the back of the net to call the game at tie and force overtime.

This overtime was long lived but finished with a negative result. With a goal in the last two minutes do to exhaustion and miscommunication the Ook’s were given the 3-2 win over the BC Kwantlen Eagles, thus preventing the Eagles their dream of a Gold medal. Moving forward, the Eagles went back to their locker room to debrief and ready for bronze qualifying Friday the 12th against Humber.

Once again with a slow start on that bright, freezing-cold sunny Friday, the Eagles quickly went down a goal in the opening ten minutes. The Eagles were still lacking in communication and leadership – frustration was growing and it was noticeable amongst both teams. Although, tensions shrank when Meghan Nilsson managed to chip the Humber goalie off of a forty-two yard shot. Unbelievable. Kwantlen was on the board and was now pushing for a win to qualify for the bronze medal game. Halftime arose and finished quickly, forcing rookie goalkeeper Melina Gomez in the sun. With temperatures and stakes rising, the Eagles were pacing themselves to force and overtime. Wide shots of the goal, quick runs up the field and smart work in the midfield, the Eagles were desperate for a goal. But, the tables quickly turned with a mere fifteen seconds left, when the far post was left wide open and the all-Canadian Humber defender rocketed one past Gomez. Kwantlen would not qualify for the bronze medal and would go on to win two to nothing against the Holland Hurricane from the Maritimes.

Although the Eagles did not manage to win a second consecutive bronze, or even their first gold, being the youngest team at the National Championships, the Eagles put on quite a show. We managed to fight back twice, and give the best athletes in the country a run for their money, as we were not going down without a fight. After watching the gold medal match between NAIT and FX-Garneau, we were ready to face the challenges of a whole new season and giving Nationals a round three. Although the youngest team, we were the most fresh and the most eager to win – we just have to all work together, and all fly in the same direction. Flying home to the nest was euphoric, but next year, we plan on winning the Gold, and putting another two banners on the wall.