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Nelson U14 Selects girls strike silver at provincials

Stingy defence and timely goals propelled the Nelson Selects U14 girls squad to the gold medal match in the BC Provincial B Cup in Kelowna
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Merissa Dawson (right) and the U14 Selects fell just short of a provincial gold in Kelowna last weekend.

Stingy defence and timely goals propelled the Nelson Selects U14 girls squad to the gold medal match in the BC Provincial B Cup in Kelowna over the weekend.

The Nelson side started the provincial tournament Thursday with a 1-0 loss to SurDel United (Surrey-Delta). The only goal of the game was scored on a free kick.

In the second game, the Selects bounced back with a 3-0 win against Quesnel on Saturday morning. Facing a must-win situation that afternoon, the Selects took out Tsawwassen Blues 3-1. The only goal against Nelson was scored on a penalty kick.

The 2-1 round robin record was good enough to earn the Selects first place in their pool. In the gold medal match they were up against the formidable top-ranked Powell River Cobras on Sunday afternoon.

Despite a strong effort, the Cobras proved to be too much and came away with a 5-0 win to take the gold.

The U14 Selects entered the tournament ranked seventh. Last season as a U13 team, the girls took fifth place in the tournament.

The outcome for the U14 girls was the best of the seven teams Nelson sent to the Provincial B Cup in both Kelowna (girls) and Aldergrove (boys).

The U13 Selects girls rebounded from a difficult 0-3 record in round robin play to wind up seventh at the provincials. The U13s  beat the Terrace Kermodes 7-1 in the Sunday game that determined seventh and eighth place.

The U15 Selects girls had a tough start to the provincial tournament losing 3-0 in their opener against the Coquitlam Black Ice which turned out to be the game that would keep them out of medal contention.

The U15s went on to tie eventual bronze medallist Prince George 3-0 and then beat Comox Valley 2-0 to finish with a 1-1-1 round robin record.

The U15s lost in the fifth/sixth place game 3-1 to Vernon United.

The U17 Selects girls side also came away with a sixth place finish after losing 3-1 to Vernon United in the fifth/sixth place game.

The highlight for the U17s was beating rival Kootenay South 4-2 in the round robin.

In Aldergrove, the U16 Selects boys came the closest to a medal, but fell just short. The boys started the tournament with a hard fought 1-1 tie against the Comox Valley Red Devils.

They followed it up on Friday with a 1-0 win over the Quesnel Strikers.

Needing to win the Saturday match against top-ranked Vancouver Island’s Douglas Park Blue Rangers, the Selects lost a heartbreaker 1-0 to the eventual silver medallists.

The boys had to settle for fourth place after losing to the Shuswap FC Selects 1-0.

The U15 Selects boys finished the round robin portion of the tournament with a 1-1-1 record. Taking on the Chilliwack Attack in the fifth/sixth place game, the U15s lost 2-1.

The U18 Selects boys started the round robin portion of the provincial with a strong effort against top-ranked and eventual gold medallist North Delta.

The boys battled the Lower Mainland side to a 2-2 draw. A 1-1 tie against Prince George had the U18s needing to win their third game against Saanich to get into the medal round.

A tough 3-2 loss pushed the locals all the way down to the seventh/eighth place game where they beat host Aldergrove 5-1.

For a more detailed wrap from the provincials, check out Friday’s Star.