The U13 Girls CVUSC Fury attended the Cloverdale Cup March 19-20 hosted by the Surrey Breakers Athletic Association. Playing four games in two days in the Silver division was a very demanding schedule, but the girls responded well.
Emma Bruschetta opened the scoring for Fury with a blast from more than 30 yards out that caught the keeper by surprise. The host club SYSA Venom responded quickly but Fury were relentless with their attack and Jeanie Hall restored the lead early in the second half.
The play was started by keeper Amelia Helpard picking up a loose ball and quickly switching the field with a well placed drop kick. Aleah Ashlee was awarded game MVP for her strong play in the midfield, both attacking and defending in the 2-1 Fury win.
Next up was the Kamloops Blue Force. Fury started strong with several promising runs from Chloe Gummer and Sloan Hoffman, one of which wound up on Sloan鈥檚 foot for a six-yard tap in goal. With the score 1-1 at the half, Fury dominated the rest of the way.
Sydney Kuhnert attacked the left side of the pitch aggressively the entire half and Savannah Hinke pushed forward from the back several times, creating numerous chances. The 1-1 regulation result gave the Fury a valuable point in the tournament, but they eventually lost a shootout after nine shooters each. Fury MVP award went to Gummer.
Sunday鈥檚 first opponent was the Penticton Pinnacles. Fury hit the pitch aggressively and were rewarded with an early goal from Madison Barry after a mad scramble in the Penticton six-yard box. Fury defence, led by Jocelyn Nickerson in the middle, gave up very few chances and were aggressive offensively as well. Melanie Oldale and Rebekah Dittrick pushed forward several times in support of the offence, pinning Penticton in their own end for large portions of the game.
The MVP award went to Hoffman. Emily Crookall showed her versatility as she played solid on the back end and had some nice runs down the right side playing midfield. Final score was 1-0 with Fury in control the whole game.
Game four had the two top teams head to head. Squamish Fireballs needed a win in regulation to win the tourney, a shootout would do it for the Fury. Sawyer Sturam played a strong game for the Fury; using her speed, she had two clear breakaways and several scoring chances forcing the Squamish keeper to make key saves in the 1st half. For her efforts, she was awarded the game MVP.
Kennedy Calow had her best game of the tourney. She created three great scoring chances with well-placed corner kicks but the Fury could not capitalize. In the second half the Fury tired and the fresh Squamish legs took over forcing Cassidee Wood to make a number of impressive saves. In the final minutes of regulation, Rhianne Williams cleared what looked to be a sure goal off the line to preserve the scoreless draw. Despite getting down early in the shootout, Fury bounced back and won 3-2, after five shooters each, giving Fury first place in their division.
Fury goalkeepers Helpard and Wood were fantastic, allowing just two goals in four games in regulation time. "The coaching staff feels the hard work in practices has paid off and they are proud of the efforts of all the players. The gals played complete games, attacking and defending as a team," a team spokesperson said.
For a team photo of the Fury, check out this story in the sports section of www.comoxvalleyrecord.com.
