The St. Albert Impact's U16 Tier 2 girls were as good as gold at the Victoria Day Classic soccer tournament over the weekend.
The final score in their final match of the weekend on Sunday was 3-2 against Sherwood Park Phoenix in what was a hard-fought battle.
"It was a good game for the teams," said coach Randy Herlein. "There was good passing, good possession. They both attacked and defended really well."
The winning goal came just minutes into overtime when the Impact's Abby Wilson found the back of the net on a penalty kick to clinch the victory.
It was the second goal of the game for Wilson, who also scored the first goal of the game. Teammate Emma Steele provided the second, but their lead put the Impact on the defensive, with the Phoenix attempting to mount a comeback and just managing to tie things up near the end of regulation play.
Earlier in the weekend, Herlein's Impact swept away Team NWT from Yellowknife with a 9-0 thrashing, and they forced the Calgary Blizzard Lightning to a 1-1 leading up to the playoff match.
"It was a close game because we allowed SP Phoenix to make a comeback," he said.
The tight competition put the Lightning and the Impact in a tie for first place, with the Impact getting the edge thanks to their hefty goal count from their earlier victory.
"It's really great when all these teams come out to give the girls some new competition," Herlein said.
U16 boys struggle
Earlier on Sunday afternoon, the St. Albert Impact U16 Tier 3 boys clinched their own podium finish after a hard-fought 1-1 tie with the Victoria Drag.
Coach Kevin Jones said he was pleased with his team, but still considered the tie "unlucky" despite his team's best efforts.
"Some days the shots just don't go in," he said. "We had a lot of pressure in the second half and just couldn't find the back of the goal."
Victoria's goalie fought passionately to keep off the Impact's opportunities, deflecting one hard shot off his back shortly after catching another.
"It was a rough start in the beginning but I think we got our rhythm by the end," team captain Nico Molina said. "We should've played just a little better."
That game resulted in a tie following the round-robin play, and with a slightly worse goal differential than the third-place Edmonton Drillers, who knocked them out of medal contention.
