CAPERS GIRLS SPARKLE AT SOUTH SHORE

CAPERS Academy U17 Girls crowned a superb weekend at the South Shore Showcase on Sunday morning with a 2-1 win over St John's (New Brunswick) that clinched fifth slot in the 12-team tournament.

The island squad had kicked off on Friday night with a 2-1 triumph over CS Dieppe when goals from Petra LeBlanc and Ella Barry secured the points in their tournament opener.

Their schedule allowed a short rest then then into action against a very strong Halifax County squad littered with Canada Games players and although the CAPERS started well and were in the game until the closing stages in the indoor 7 v 7 format they eventually tired and fell to a 6-0 defeat.

This is a group, though, that refuses to buckle when faced with setbacks and in Game Three they were back on song as left-sided defender Mattea MacKinnon scored a superb goal direct from a corner to clinch a 1-0 win over Inter Halifax.

That second success set up a nervous wait to see if the girls would qualify as one of the best second-placed round robin teams to make the semi-finals but they were edged out on goal difference and faced an early 7am Sunday morning clash in the positional play-off as organisers battled to get teams out of town before the snowstorm hit.

CAPERS started well against St John's and edged in front when LeBlanc headed home from another vicious corner delivery from MacKinnon. They were quickly pegged back, though, and the game looked to be heading to a shootout with the scores tied at 1-1.

Captain Samantha Chauder had other ideas, though, and when her team broke free from a corner against she rounded the outrushing keeper to score the clincher from a tight angle and set the seal on a terrific weekend of soccer for her team in front of the watching Varsity coaches.

The team's high finish with three wins out of four was a tribute to the hard work being done by Head Coach Mitch Hanna and his coaching staff of Damien Barry and Emily Lazenby as the team gears up for the kick-off of the U17AAA Girls NSSL season in April.

To cap a very positive trip for the squad CAPERS goalkeeper Sadie Delorey, who is bidding for a Canada Games squad slot, was named Keeper of the Tournament to the delight of the CAPERS contingent at the end of the match.

OUR picture shows the successful CAPERS squad after their positional play-off win. BACK ROW (left to right): Coach Iain King, Melia Roberts, Samantha Chauder, Ella Barry, Alyse Tierney, Mattea MacKinnon, Sophia Peach, Coach Damien Barry. FRONT ROW (left to right): Petra LeBlanc, Mary-Beth MacLeod, Sadie Delorey, Neeley Pheifer, Allison Wadden, Brooklyn Wasson.