Finishing second best to the Morinville Ladies last year wasn’t good enough for Mavericks 09 in the St. Albert Women’s Soccer League.
“They’re our rival team from last season. They beat us out to go to provincials so this was definitely an intense game for us,” Mavericks’ forward Jennifer Bruinsma said after Tuesday’s entertaining 3-2 victory at Grosvenor field. “We approached it wanting to take top seed in the league so we definitely came out wanting to get a win.”
After letting a two-goal lead slip away, the Mavericks roared back to net the game winner with nine minutes remaining on Bruinsma’s team-leading fourth marker. The former Morinville player converted Dori Sutcliffe’s corner kick with a low shot past keeper Danielle Lafond.
“I just saw an opening in the right corner and slid it in,” Bruinsma said. “Our takers [on corner kicks] are pretty good at setting us up in the centre like that.”
Leading up to the corner kick was an opportunistic cross to Kathleen Warwick that was smartly defended by Morinville’s Megan Schafers to keep the score knotted at two apiece.
Morinville pulled even with 18 minutes to play as Melissa Atkinson tracked down a long ball through traffic and scored in tight on keeper Karen Seward. After manoeuvring around the Mavericks’ disoriented back line, Atkinson showed great patience in controlling the ball before knocking it in.
“It was lobbed over and I went for it with the keeper. It bounced and then as she went up to hit it I headed it and it went over her real nice,” said Atkinson, who moved up to forward from centre midfield in the second half to give Morinville a boost offensively.
Goals by Alison Johannesen in the fourth minute and Kristen Patrick in the ninth minute left Morinville reeling.
“They showed how hungry they were in the first half,” Atkinson said. “I think it all came down to fitness. It was a bit of a wakeup call that we need to be in better shape.”
After the sluggish start Morinville generated a handful of quality chances leading up to the break. A pair of promising free kicks almost clicked. One strike rattled off the post and the second boot just missed top gun Suzanne Gaetz streaking into open space.
The first half ended with an easy save by Mavericks’ trialist Lynne Boyd on a penalty shot by Cherisse Gunderson. Boyd didn’t have to move as the ball was directed straight into the keeper’s gut. Seward took over the netminding duties from Boyd in the second half.
“We definitely came out pretty intense but we started to relax towards the end of the first half,” Bruinsma said. “We came out with a safe pace at the start of the second half but it caught us, so we had to turn up the heat.”
After the teams exchanged top-notch chances to kick off the second half, a low shot from the left side by Morinville’s Jenna Davis caught the far corner of the net with 24 minutes to go.
“We regrouped at the half and we definitely had a stronger second half,” Atkinson said. “It says something that we didn’t give up. We came back to tie it up, and in the end we were just unlucky.”
It was the first loss after four wins for Morinville. Not dressed for the 2009 division one pennant winners was offensive threat Amy Suggitt and stalwart midfielder Brittany MacDonald Both starters were deeply missed.
“Losing like we did is a positive learning experience for us,” said Atkinson, a 24-year-old nursing student. “We know where our areas are to work on. We just have to pull it together and be positive. We’re still a great team.”
Last year Morinville (15-2-1) finished one point ahead of the Mavericks (15-3) for its fifth pennant in six years and a berth at the tier IV provincials. The teams split the season series with identical 1-0 scores.
“We’re a pretty consistent team. We had an awesome indoor season and that has given us strength for this season outdoors,” Bruinsma said of the first-place 14-0-4 finish in division 3C in the Edmonton District Soccer Association and 1-2 record for eighth place at the tier IV indoor provincials.
Johannesen, Mel Johannesen and Leanne Kovacs were the main additions for indoor and they have stayed with the Mavericks for the outdoor campaign. Boyd, Sarah Crerar, Lisa McTaggart and standout Allyson Fong were also brought on board in a bid to challenge Morinville and Storm United for divisional honours.
The Mavericks improved to 5-1 by beating Morinville. Their only loss was 2-0 June 6 against the undefeated Storm.
“We were short some players that game and we weren’t quite into it mentally,” said Bruinsma, a 31-year-old Camilla School teacher. “This was more of a mental game for us. We had to come out and be mentally ready. We’ve always got the physical game it just seems like we need that mental edge to be successful.”
