Eight games into their season after finding success against their soccer peers from B.C. and Alberta, the Prince George Timberwolves under-14 girls have to be feeling good about themselves.
They've suffered just one regulation-time loss in those eight games and on Monday capped an undefeated run to the Slurpee Cup tournament U-14 title with a 2-0 win over the host Kamloops Blaze.
Mikeila Oliveira scored both goals in the final and goalie Sian Steindl was flawless in the Prince George nets.
Steindl was also in shutout form in the T-wolves' tournament opener, a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Island Wave. Kaitlin Earl notched the only goal of the game. The T-wolves then beat Whistler 2-1 on the strength of goals from Oliveira and Megan Goetken. Oliveira and Anisha Panaich were the Prince George goalscorers in a 2-1 win over the Calgary Rangers, a victory that locked up a berth in the final.
The team is a blend of last year's Prince George Youth Soccer Association under-13 Tier 1 team and the Tier 2 team. Most of the team played indoor soccer together over the winter twice a week at the Northern Sport Centre.
The T-wolves started their outdoor tournament season on Easter weekend in Kelowna, where they finished with three ties and one loss and finished fourth.
"It's a good group of girls and they're starting to come together," said coach Mario Mastroianni. "It's a pretty good start to the year, competition-wise. Eight or nine of the [17] girls are in Whitecaps Academy, which has helped a lot, and a lot went through select training in the wintertime. We started in April, training inside, and got to the grass two weeks ago.
"It's still a project trying to put a group together when you have almost a 60-40 split of girls who have played together. It's all about knowing how everybody moves and who's going to run where and we're still going through that growth," he said.
Mastroianni said he'll make up his mind over the next two weeks whether his team will challenge for the provincial A Cup title in Burnaby or the provincial B Cup in Chilliwack. The provincial championships will be held in July.
Mastroianni is trying to arrange a northern B.C. tournament for his team, which would involve teams from Smithers, Terrace and Quesnel. A zone championship will determine which team advances to the provincial finals in June.
Three other PGYSA teams turned in medal performances at the Slurpee Cup tournament. The under-14 boys coached by Todd Kuc won gold, the under-16 girls under coach Joanne Wankling captured silver and the Peter Brbot-coached under-15 boys brought home a bronze medal.
