EOSSAA senior girls 'A' soccer champs GDHS kick off provincials with two shut-out wins

Gaels compete at OFSAA for Ontario soccer supremacy

Two matches into their OFSAA competition in the Windsor area, the Glengarry District High School senior girl soccer team is off to a rocking start, having chalked up a pair of decisive shut-out victories.

First up, yesterday morning, bright and early, the Gaels, relying on their tight defence and steady offence, prevailed over L'Amoreaux Collegiate Institute (Toronto) with a 5-0 effort. Kayla McPherson scored twice, with Mya Campbell JJ Romaniuk, and Brianna Bellefeuille each adding a single.

Coach Kathleen Tonkin tells me, “Our first game was against a team with less experience than ours, and it gave us a chance to get our legs moving after a long bus ride.”

The second contest, against St. Paul Secondary School (Mississauga), was a bit closer, going into the books as a 3-0 win.

Tonkin notes that the match, which she describes as “competitive,” began “with rain, and that caused some awkward bounces and the ball was slippery.”

Goal scorers were Emily Jeaurond, Mya Campbell and Jada Campbell. The day one results secured first place in the five-team pool, with the Gaels slated to play two more round-robin matches on Friday (June 3).

Cassie McIntosh was in the net for both wins on Thursday, closing the door for the shutouts.

Stingy defence has been a key component of the Gaels this season. The girls ran the table of regular-season league play without surrendering a goal. In SDGAA playoffs, their only blemish came in the final, a 5-1 decision over Char-Lan.

The EOSSAA champion senior Gaels soccer team includes Abbey Lowe, Mya Campbell, Trinity Marfurt-Breakenridge, Emmy-Lynn MacGillvray, Madison MacRae, Kayla McPherson, Angelina Dewar, Leina Williams, Madison McLeod, Isis McPherson, and coach Kathleen Tonkin. Kneeling are Emily Jeaurond, JJ Romaniuk, Zoe McIntosh, Abby Hardy, Brianna Bellefeuille, Keira Kennedy, and Nadia Jeaurond. In front, with the trophy, are Maya Fitzpatrick and Cassie McIntosh. (Photo courtesy GDHS)

At EOSSAA last week in Alexandria, once again the Glengarry squad was impressive defensively, allowing just one goal in four matches. After collectively outscoring their two opponents on day one 16-0, the Gaels took down the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School Ravens (Russell) in the semifinal on day two with an 8-1 effort. Goals were scored by: Kayla McPherson (2), Keira Kennedy (2), Nadia Jeaurond (2), Brianna Bellefeuille, and Trinity Marfurt-Breakenridge.

That set up the championship game with the Mackenzie Community School Mustangs (Deep River), and the Gaels were solid, nabbing the trophy with a 6-0 result. Markswomen were Nadia Jeaurond (4), Kayla McPherson, and Trinity Marfurt-Breakenridge.

As luck would have it, Mackenzie, as the EOSSAA runners-up, also earned a berth at OFSAA, where the Mustangs are playing in Pool C, while Glengarry is in Pool A.

For more on EOSSAA, please see this earlier story. A photo gallery is available here. The post on the Gaels’ SD&G championship can be read here.