The PGYSA under-18 Timberwolves may have gone into the Provincial A Cup qualifier as underdogs, but they didn't play like it on the weekend.
The girls' soccer side knocked off their heavily favoured visitors from Penticton in a two-game series at Rotary Field with a 3-0 win Saturday and a 1-1 draw Sunday.
Their success in the qualifier meant Prince George booked their ticket to the Provincial A Cup championship in Burnaby July 3-6.
"The girls played phenomenal," said T-wolves head coach Frank Rossi about the qualification weekend. "Their work ethic was fantastic. We were underdogs versus what is considered the best team in the Okanagan. It was a pleasant surprise for us."
In their 3-0 shutout Saturday, Prince George controlled most of the play as Maddy Emmond scored the first goal 20 minutes into the first half to take a 1-0 lead after 45 minutes.
Kyra Teetwen and Taylor Samuelson struck with tallies at the 15th and 20 minutes of the second half respectively to maintain control of the match.
Goalkeeper Keely Finch earned the shutout.
Since the series was based on goal differential, Penticton had to beat Prince George by at least three goals to advance to provincials.
Penticton scored with five minutes left in the first half for a narrow 1-0 advantage. Finch held the fort in net for Prince George until Jordan Lamothe answered in the last minute of the match to give the two sides a 1-1 draw.
"They [Penticton] were cognizant of the score and they took it to us and played with a sense of urgency," said Rossi. "We weathered the storm. We took them by surprise [Saturday] and from what I understand, Penticton was undefeated in the Okanagan league and they had several provincial high school champions on the team. We dominated them and it was a really good effort by everyone on our squad."
It was the first time this season the Timberwolves had seen the Okanagan team and Rossi didn't know too much about them even based on scouting reports he had.
Provincials features three sides from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island and one team from the Interior - Prince George - the only team from northern B.C. playing in the top tier.
The tournament is a four-team round-robin format with the top-two sides playing for gold July 6, while the remaining two teams will compete for bronze.
Rossi was so focused on the weekend, he hasn't had much time to contemplate what's in store for his squad next week.
"If the girls play the way they did this weekend, and we're an athletic team, we can compete with anybody in B.C.," he said. "It's going to be interesting, but I'm very proud of the girls. They stepped up to a higher level and stuck to the game plan."
