“Oh my gosh, my nerves. My nerves were shot after both games.”
CANMORE – They were the type of games that make coaches look away nervously and push players to the limit in tense moments.
It was crunch time twice for the Canmore Wolverines girls’ soccer team in a span of about 48 hours. Everything was on the line in the league banner game last Thursday (Oct. 17), and then in the bronze medal match at zone championships on Saturday (Oct. 19).
In both instances, the Wolverines were down a goal and needed to make something happen quickly as the clock ticked away.
“Oh my gosh, my nerves. My nerves were shot after both games,” said Grade 12 striker Jewel Weighell. “I was very stressed out, but it was very fun.”
In the league banner game against long-time rival and the always tough Holy Trinity Knights, the Wolverines’ hopes looked grim as the match hit the 80th minute mark, then 85th minute, then 89th minute. It wasn’t until in the 90th minute when the Knights were penalized and the Wolverines had a last-ditch penalty kick.
The news got even worse for the Knights when the girl with the golden boot, Mary Huggill, stepped up for the kick and buried it in the back of the net to send the game into overtime.
Huggill, a league soccer player, had played in a Canada-wide tournament just a few months back.
In extra minutes, team captain Huggill was set up to take a corner kick, with the idea to lob it in the goalie’s box and pray for some favourable bounces. As the ball came into play, a Knights defender made a critical mistake that she soon won’t forget, knocking the ball into her own net.
On the sidelines, as Huggill prepared to kick, head coach Joal Borggard looked away.
“I told them to tell me when it goes in, and sure enough it went in,” said Borggard.
The Wolverines have won the league banner in back-to-back seasons, striking down the Knights both times.
Weighell said the victory was huge for the soccer team because the banner will be displayed in the CCHS gymnasium with everyone’s signatures on it.
“These past few years have been really nice to actually win against [the Knights] and get the banner and it’s been kind of ironic because they’ve both been on their home field so that’s kind of a nice feeling,” she said.
At the zone championship playoffs, the Wolverines didn’t find the success they had a day earlier. The Springbank Phoenix and the revenge-thirsty Knights ended any gold medal dreams for Canmore, handing the local girls back-to-back losses.
The Wolverines said it was partially due to fatigue and being “soccer’d out” after playing in five games in five days.
In the bronze medal game, the Wolverines were once again staring defeat in the face. Down a goal with time fading in the second half, Huggill, who scored three goals at zones, played the hero again and tied things up on a free kick in the 88th minute.
“It was crazy because probably like, I kid you not, a minute after the whistle went. We were like a minute away from losing,” said Weighell.
In overtime, the Wolverines completed the comeback when Airi Watai sealed the deal and found the back of the net.
On the comeback victories, coach Borggard said the well-rounded team had “one speed” in the second half.
“I think we just kind of tend to wear the teams down,” said Borggard. “The other teams I think have trouble keeping up … We always seem to be better as the game goes.”
As the season wraps up, nine of the 20 players will be graduating – Reese Anderson, Aria Grandi, Huggill, Meg Kobayashi, Josie Perron, Asha Pickard, Weighell, Charlotte Wilson and Ruth Wolfe.
Although Weighell isn’t worried about the future of the team.
“This year, we have so many new Grade 9’s on the team who are absolutely insane, like, they’re very skilled players and they’re such nice girls too and it’s so awesome to have that,” said Weighell.
