Viking girls edge Plainsmen in city final

The Vincent Massey Vikings legacy run has now reached the decade milestone.

Massey’s girls squad captured its 10th straight Brandon High School Soccer League championship after fending off the Crocus Plainsmen to secure a 3-2 victory at Massey on Tuesday afternoon.

Chelsey Hoad, who’s one of four Vikings seniors to take home gold in all four years at Massey, admitted that winning feeling never gets old.

“It’s just really exciting,” said Hoad, who scored the game-winning tally off a penalty kick. “All four years we’ve won and we have a lot of first years, so everyone’s been so excited to get the win. The first goal for them was nerve-racking, but then we came back stronger and better, and we’re really proud of how it turned out.

“I’ve been with a couple of them all for all four years, so being able to see this through with them for my graduating year, it’s really exciting.”

Hoad is joined by fellow seniors Nova Anseeuw, Jordan Woloski, and her sister Tessa, in her four-for-four run at qualifying for provincials, which begin next week in Winnipeg.

The 17-year-old said she’s looking forward to making a run alongside Massey’s boys team, who also advanced following its 3-2 victory over Crocus in the city final on Monday.

“The guys team also won their game for Massey, so we’re going to go to Winnipeg again like the April tournament, which is really fun,” she said. “I’m really excited to cheer the guys on for that and then for them to cheer us on, so being able to experience that together, especially, should be really fun with them.”

Similar to the boys game, Hoad and the Vikings also trailed early.

The Plainsmen drew first blood around 15 minutes into the match after Megan Gabriel booted one from distance and then found the net, as Massey goalkeeper Abigail Chandler got a piece of the ball but not enough for a goal she’d probably want to have back.

Massey dominated possession but didn’t create too many prime scoring opportunities, as Crocus did a fine job of clogging up the middle, mostly because of the play from Grade 12 defender Genesis Lopez Mejia.

The Vikings contnued to apply pressure and eventually earned a few corner kicks and then cashed in on the third attempt thanks to a perfectly placed header from Elli Creaser, who chalked up her first goal of the season to even the game at 1-1.

Shortly after, the Plainsmen almost regained their lead as striker Mary Akinbode drove in from the left side past a few defenders and then ripped a shot on net which was stopped by Chandler. It soon became clear their strategy wasn’t so different from their male counterparts, who in the final a few days ago, also sought all their offence from driving the ball deep downfield with the hopes of getting an attacker in all alone for a goal.

And while Massey may have been caught with that on a few occasions earlier in the contest, the adjustments came fairly quick as play went on. As well as their luck.

Tessa Hoad launched a ball into traffic after the Vikings were awarded a free kick for a trip outside the box and it found an extremely fortunate bounce as it ricocheted off of Lopez Mejia’s shoulder and into the net to make it 2-1 for the hosts.

The Hoads would continue to build up Massey’s lead after Chelsey buried a penalty kick into the bottom left corner after Crocus was guilty of a hand ball just minutes into the second half. After making it 3-1, Hoad said the team’s mindset switched to playing a little more cautious.

“We got that third goal and we were all just like, ‘Ok, we’re gonna try to see where we are. Play smart, we’re not gonna play stupid because the game’s kind of all over the place. I think we all did a really good job of just staying strong with how the game was going.”

Macy Hetherington had an opportunity to bring her club within one following a shot in tight through traffic, however, Chandler displayed some nice vision and was up to the task.

With under 15 minutes remaining, senior Madisyn Taillefer then gave her team some life, making it a 3-2 deficit with a high-flying ball straight into the left corner.

The Plainsmen continued their pressure with the clock winding down, and had a great chance to tie it as Lopez Mejia juked her way through a few Vikings defenders off a corner kick pass and then rung one off the crossbar.

That was the closest they’d get, though, as Massey would hold on to keep its throne once more.

Creaser, who opened the scoring, said while her team was down early, the belief among the group stayed consistent.

“We kind of always felt like we were gonna win, so we kind of just trusted how we could play,” she said. “We knew we could score and get the lead back and we did, so it feels great.

“It’s nice to get the second one, but now I’m hoping to go four-for-four.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com