NEPEAN HOTSPURS U-15 OYSL GIRLS STRIKE GOLD
Aug 19, 2009
The Hotspurs girls entered this elite level tournament as one of the top seeds and expectations were high in the hopes of matching their gold medal success of 2007. The girls played very well in the opening game to Gloucester, but were unable to counter the two breakaway goals by their OYSL rivals.
The side bounced back nicely in their second round-robin game with a 6-0 comprehensive win against Gatineau – the top ranked AA side from Western Quebec. On day 2, the opposition for the early morning game was the Niagara Rapids and the Hotspurs girls had to dig deep to triumph 3-2 in this seesaw battle with the CGSL league leaders. Requiring only a tie to advance to the semi-finals, the side jumped to a 6-0 half time lead against OSU Force, before putting on the brakes and coasting to an 8-2 victory.
The semi-final on the Monday was a defensive battle with long time adversary, the London Meteors and the Hotspurs finally advancing with a very clinical finishing demonstration in the shoot-out. The win brought about a re-match with Gloucester and a highly entertaining final for the large crowd at Ben Franklin Park. Gloucester again jumped to a 2-0 lead, but this time the Hotspurs dug deep and regrouped with two beautiful goals and sending the tie to another penalty shoot out, which they won in the 8th round.
In some of the key games, Coach Adam Knight had the girls switching formations and playing styles on the fly and the squad’s ability to understand and implement these directions has been instrumental in their success this season. Combine that with great goal-tending, super ball skills and a tenacious never say die attitude, this side looks well equipped to solidify its position in the top half of the OYSL in 2009 and to challenge f or top spot in 2010 .
