The premier Impact 1 women’s soccer squad, chasing Impact 2 for most of the night, pulled out a last-minute miracle, beating its St. Albert rival 2-1 Tuesday.
Chris Spaidal, head coach of Impact 1, said he was frustrated as his team spent most of the game behind the eight ball.
“Full credit to them; they were well-organized and played really well for the whole 90. They capitalized on our one mistake, and then did what they needed to do to prevent us from breaking through when we had so many chances to score,” Spaidal said.
Impact 2 coach Rob Bourbonnais said losing in the final minutes was unfortunate but spirits remain high.
“We were probably in the game the whole time and for long periods of the game we were the better team,” Bourbonnais said.
Late in the first half Impact 2 was able to capitalize on a defensive error to pull ahead 1-0. Christie Wong won a footrace against the Impact 1 defence and beat the 'keeper, who rushed out to nab the ball. Wong dribbled around the goalie and calmly tapped the ball into the back of the net.
Impact 1 now has aspirations to advance to the major league next season but to successfully achieve a league promotion the team must win the regular season in the premier league.
“Every three points matter right now because there isn’t going to be any easy three points for the rest of the year," Spaidal said. "It is just the reality of the league. The rest of the schedule going forward looks like everybody will come to play against us.”
On Tuesday, Impact 1 opened the second half charging forward, determined to even the score. While the team managed to dominate possession, they were not able to capitalize on the many chances they had in the offensive zone. The Impact 2 defence held firm for a long time.
As the clock wound down, Impact 1 poured on the pressure.
“Sometimes you start to overcompensate and press a little bit harder than is needed, instead of just remembering the simple things and where you get your success from,” Spaidal said.
With 10 minutes left in the game, Janai Martens was able to tie things up. With two minutes left on the clock Sheena Tracey scored to put Impact 1 ahead 2-1 before time ran out.
“They were definitely playing with desperation. They were shooting from everywhere. At the end of the day they got the job done and congratulations to them,” Bourbonnais said.
The sixth-ranked Impact 2 will face off against the ninth-place Wind on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the ESA complex in Edmonton. Impact 1 play at Riel Park at 5 p.m. on Sunday against the seventh-place Hearts United team.
