Under 13 girls rep team south division champs

The Bolton Wanderers under-13 girls' reps included Jenna Allain (The Striker), Ashley Catalano (Cheetah), Alessia Celenza (The Stallion), Melissa Clancy (Miss Tenacious), captain Madeleine Clark (Lefty), Andrea D'Alessandro (Fancy Foot), Heather Donovan (The Hound Dog), Captain-Kirsten Vanstone (Stone Wall), Captain-Samantha Hagigal (Haggie), Alanna Evans (The Boot), Alexandra Hnatykiw (The Aggressive One), Ashley Huet (Hubert), Jessie Hurrell (The Fox), Kayleigh Niccols (Smiley), Mariah Poulin (The Kid), Kristyn St. Hilaire (Goldie), coach Dave Vanstone, assistant coach-trainer Marinella Vanstone and managerparent liaison, Gary St.Hilaire.

In order to keep the Bolton Under 12 Girls Select Team together the Bolton Wanderers Soccer Club approved them to be a Under 13 Girls rep team playing in the South Region Soccer League. Team Thunder played against teams from Orangeville, Burlington, Clarkson, St Catharines and Mississauga.

Prior to the start of the 2006 summer season the Team Thunder was busy doing their homework. They played up in the Under 14 Girls Indoor Rep Division from January to April. Once the indoor season was completed the Thunder started preparing for their 2006 summer season by practising 2 to 3 hours per week.

It came down to the last game of the season. All of the hard work in the offseason and pre-season paid dividends against the unsuspecting opponents that this first-year rep team met.

In 15 regular season games, The Thunder won 12 games and lost only 3. Two of the games lost were to the tough adversaries from Mississauga. Ironically it came down to the very last game for both the Thunder and Mississauga which would determine the division champions. Each team had a great season and had 33 points. Both teams wanted to win to assure advancement to the next level for the following 2007 season.

It was a great day for soccer. The temperature was right, the field was in great shape and the supporting fans for both teams were all there to cheer their team on. Mid-way the first half Mississauga opened the scoring and went ahead 1 to 0. Mississauga scoring didn't seem to phase the Thunder one bit. They quickly settled into their game and came back hard to score the equalizer within five minutes. The Thunder didn't let up. Keeping the pressure on the Mississauga team the Thunder sensing the came back and scored yet another goal to go ahead. Minutes later Bolton scored their first goal. The Mississauga group seemed stunned with the turn of events. Bolton quickly grabbed the ball from the Mississauga net and set it up at centre. Waiting to get the play started once again. Bolton knew they were going to win and Mississauga sensed they were up against the better team and would be defeated.

Bolton kept the pressure on and they seemed to grow stronger and more confident as they totally controlled the ball movement in the Mississauga zone. The defensive line (the wall) contained the play and moved it back into the Mississauga zone every time there was an attempt to move it out.

The Bolton mid-fielders and strikers kept pounding the goalie with shot after shot. Bolton finally scored again which ended up being the final goal of the game. Bolton was victorious over Mississauga 3-1.

The girls ended their season with some very impressive statistics. They were first-year participants in the Ontario Cup (the only Division 2 Team entered); quarterfinalists in the West Niagara Tournament; semifinalists in League Cup; champions in the Gloucester Tournament, and division champions in South Region. They played a total of 31 games, winning 23, tying 1 and losing 7. They scored a total of 83 goals and had only 33 scored against them.

All of the girls worked very hard this season both for themselves and for the team. They developed their passing game, their on-field communication, their tactics and strategy game and most of all, their game of possession and control. The girls are confident young athletes who have shown a lot of class and sportsmanship this season.

The coaches, parents and the Bolton Wanderers Soccer Club are very proud of the girls for playing hard and developing as a team and for another outstanding season together!

The division champions will be hosting first round fall tryouts for any female players born in 1993 on Sept. 23. For more information, contact Dave Vanstone at 905-951-7994.

The Team would like to thank their supporting sponsors, Bill Parnaby at Royal Lepage, Kingsview Real Estate, TriStar Landscaping, Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, and a very special thanks to the key sponsors Malibu Café, FLYBMI.COM and Waste Management.