For a good chunk of their game at the North Central zone single A girls soccer championship Friday afternoon, the Fort St. James Falcons played keepaway.
More often than not, their passes found the intended target, they made moves that kept the ball attached to their feet and when they did get a one great chance to score against the Lakes District Lakers, they made the most of that opportunity.
In a battle of the two unbeaten teams at the five-team tournament at Rotary Soccer Field, the Falcons won 1-0 on a six-yard strike Brooke Dunkley. Dunkley won a footrace with Lakers goalie Laneah Sherwood and caught up to the pass from teammate Sarah Sampson to score the game's only goal with about seven minutes left in the first half.
"I just knew earlier (Sherwood) came out really fast so I figured I'd touch it around her and put it in," said Dunkley one of 10 Grade 12 veterans on her team.
"We knew we were going to provincials (as the host team) but this really challenged us to do our best in our last year. We proved we deserve to be there."
Led by Sarah Valk, Emily Sulyma and Carly Martin, the Falcons' defence formed an impenetrable wall in front of goalie Hannah den Engelsen and rarely allowed the Lakers to get close to their net. Krista Best, a Grade 9 midfielder, was a standout for the Falcons, stripping the ball away from the Lakers several times and moving the ball quickly up the field to the forwards.
"Fort St. James definitely deserved to win, they outplayed us little bit out there, passed the ball better, and our girls are going to learn from this experience," said Lakers head coach Dirk Hofer.
The two teams improved to 3-0 after they won their games Friday morning.
Fort St. James beat the Westside Academy Warriors 2-1 and Lakes District shut out Fraser Lake 2-0. The win over Lakes District of Burns Lake to wrap up the two-day round-robin tournament gave the Falcons their second-straight zone title.
"We had lots of chances and our midfield and D were strong today and our passing was the best it's been all season, the perfect time to peak," said Falcons head coach James Waddell.
In the third-place game which determined the third berth for the provincial tournament, Nicole Bublitz scored early in the second half and goalie Mary-Skye Gill did the rest, making at least six quality saves to lift the Northside Christian North Stars of Vanderhoof to a 1-0 win over the Fraser Lake Cougars.
The Falcons, Lakers and North Stars will represent the North Central zone at the 16-team single-A provincial tournament, June 2-4 at Rotary Field. For the North Stars, it will be their first-ever provincial appearance.
"It's hard to believe that we're going to provincials but we're thrilled," said North Stars coach Adrian Pelzer. "Our goalie (Gill) sprained her ankle badly in the first game of the year and she's still hobbling, but she came back and played an outstanding tournament.
"It was an incredibly close tournament, I've never seen anything like that. We had two games that went into overtime and lost one and lost one in a shootout, and we only lost 2-0 to Fort St. James, the winners. The while tournament was close."
Waddell said the tight scores are an indication northern teams are taking the game more seriously and are traveling to tournaments in the southern half of the province. He said the early arrival of spring which allowed teams on the fields in early April, a month ahead of the usual time, also helped raise the level of play.
"It's exciting that we get three berths this year and I'm excited that we're hosting," said Waddell.
"I think the teams will be amazed when they see this facility, I don't think they're expecting it to be this nice."
Colby Wilson, a Grade 9 midfielder for Fort St. James, was chosen as the tournament's most valuable player, while top goalie honours went to Kailie Duncan of Fraser Lake. Westside was given the most sportsmanlike team award, selected by the referees.
