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U18 Girls Markham Hornets Grimsby Tournament finalists!
Posted by () on Sep 09 2009
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The Markham Under-18 Girls House League All-Star team kicked off its 2009 season with a strong performance in the Ontario 200 All-Star/Select Soccer Tournament in Grimsby on the July 18-19 week-end, finishing on top of the four-team U17/18 division after three round robin games on Saturday before losing a close championship final to the host team on Sunday. 

The Hornets got off to a great start early Saturday morning with a 2-0 victory over Georgetown, dominating the game from start to finish. Natalie Mangos and Meera Haji scored the goals, while Michelle Kwok, ably assisted by a strong defence, recorded the shut-out.  

Next up were the tournament hosts, Grimsby. Once again the Hornets held a definite edge in play but had difficulty converting their numerous scoring chances. They nursed a 1-0 lead into the dying minutes of the game, thanks to a goal early in the second half by Kaitlin Ritchie, but were surprised by a fast break down the middle that resulted in the tying goal with only 10 seconds left in the game. 

The team bounced back from this temporary letdown to play their strongest game of the tournament against a very tough and aggressive Brantford team. After falling behind 1-0 in the first half, the Hornets fought back to tie the game with a goal by Alyssa Paoletti with 10 minutes left. Brantford’s aggression led to three successive penalty kicks for Markham, but they were stymied by an outstanding goaltender until Meera Haji finally converted a rebound on the third PK to put the Hornets in front 2-1 with only two minutes left, a lead they held to the end. This hard-fought victory secured first place in the round robin and a bye to the championship final match. 

The Hornets’ opponent in the championship final was Grimsby, who knocked off Brantford in the semi-final match Sunday morning. Despite jumping into a quick 1-0 lead on a free kick by Justine Cleworth three minutes into the game, Markham had trouble containing the quick Grimsby strikers and gave up a penalty kick goal and a breakaway goal, ultimately falling 2-1. Given the high expectations following Saturday’s performance in the round robin, this loss was a bit of a letdown but should not diminish the team’s overall strong performance in its first tournament of the season. 

Also contributing to the team's efforts were: Natalie Cramarossa, Rachel Tam, Victoria Christofilos, Frederique Rajotte, Kaileigh Macrae, Michelle Pacelli, Oriana Paoletti, Alana Gottschalk, and Jill Kooymans. The team was coached by Jerry Kooymans and Allister Macrae and is sponsored by CIBC.

Last changed: Sep 09 2009 at 1:53 PM