ESA Complex – Time was ticking down on the St. Albert Impact’s season when the division 3A women’s team beat the clock in Wednesday’s Tier 3 provincial qualifier.
It took the Impact 56 minutes to open the scoring against Royals FC and the insurance marker with 19 minutes remaining completed the 2-0 victory in the Edmonton District Soccer Association playdowns.
“They gave us a game. It was pretty even the whole time but we just pulled through. We got a couple of good goals and took the win. It’s awesome,” said striker Melanie Seidel, who kicked in the first goal of the match. “Now we get to go to provincials. It’s really important for us to go there and play for St. Albert.”
The Tier 3 championship is Sept. 4 to 7 at Shouldice Park in Calgary.
“It’s pretty amazing actually to go to provincials. We’ve worked really hard this year and we’ve been really successful,” said striker Jacey Carroll, who pumped in the second goal in the Impact’s 14th win in 15 matches. “We’re going to play as a team and support each other the whole way and have a lot of fun no matter how it turns out.”
The Impact plays the Riverbend Ruckus (11-1-2, 68 GF/20 GA in division 3B) on Monday to confirm the first and second EDSA seeds in the six-team Tier 3 draw, which includes the defending champion Mavericks 09 of the St. Albert Women’s Soccer League and winners of 34 consecutive matches. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. at the ESA Complex.
The Impact entered the playdowns ranked No. 1 after going 13-1 in division 3A with a goal differential of plus-54 (66 GF/12 GA) as the top team out of 32 division three clubs.
The team’s only loss was 3-1 to NE Falcons FC (9-4-1) July 6.
“There was pressure that way with our record but we’re a very confident team. We just keep positive and it usually works out for us,” Carroll said. “We work really well together. We read each other really well and when someone has the ball we know exactly where everyone else is going to be to feed them.”
The Royals (10-2-2, 53 GF/12 GA in division 3C) are a step above what the Impact faced in their division.
“These guys are a good team. They were tops in their division too. It was really good competition for us and a good warm-up for provincials,” Seidel said. “The teams we’ve been playing we’ve been beating them pretty good but this team was definitely more evenly matched with us. It was pretty even the whole time so we just needed to get those two goals to break through and take the lead.”
After a rather uneventful first half by both teams the Impact capitalized on their chances while gradually controlling the play and when the Royals threatened they locked it down defensively.
“We did well at some points. Obviously we had highs and lows,” Carroll said. “They didn’t mark as closely as our (division 3A) teams do but it was just a little bit of jumble in the middle that we had a hard time feeding out of.”
In the opening half, the Impact were unable to cash in some corner kicks and in the 29th minute Cat Korotash chased down a kick but was unable to knock it past the goalkeeper who came out to challenge for the 50/50 ball.
The Royals also missed the net on a couple of quality opportunities but had the edge in play as the half drew to a close.
The Impact got the ball rolling offensively early in the second half with Carroll coming close twice and a pair of dangerous Korotash corner kicks.
Seidel, 20, ended the scoreless stalemate with her ninth goal of the season, a low shot from outside the penalty area after slipping around a defender while battling for ball possession.
“It was nice to get the first goal to set off the pace for the team,” said the Paul Kane High School graduate. “She got it and then I managed to just flick it with the back of my foot. I got it in front of me and took off and I ended up hitting it into the corner.”
The Royals ratcheted up the pressure after the icebreaker but strong back-line play in front of goalkeeper Nicole Schlemko kept Impact’s lead intact.
The Impact would eventually reverse their field position after a couple of tense moments in front of Schlemko and in the 71st minute Carroll found the back of the net with a well-struck ball.
“I was very frustrated. There was a little anger in that one,” said Carroll, who found herself in prime scoring range several times before making it 2-0 with her 16th of the season. “It was a breakaway down the middle, then I deked to the right and then shot it right.”
Carroll, 18, finished league play tied for third in the division scoring race with 15 in only nine matches.
“The chemistry between the midfielders and strikers, like myself, is really good. They get the ball and they don’t think about themselves, they’re very unselfish, they just look for the striker right away and without them I wouldn’t be able to have as many as I do,” said the Bellerose Composite High School graduate.
