The Stingers competed in the 6^th Annual Barrie Spiritfest Tournament this past weekend.   The girls made it through to the semi-finals before losing to a more experienced squad, Barrie Spirit “A”, 1-0.

The Guelph Royals provided the opposition in the first preliminary round game.  The Stingers generated more scoring chances than the Royals and probably should have won by a greater margin than the 1-0 score line.  On the bright side, they did pass the ball well and the defensive line provided their usual staunch effort.

On to Sunday morning, and a match-up of two undefeated teams with identical goal differentials (goals for minus goals against).  The Oakville Phoenix team presented a few unique challenges to the Stingers.  First, they are an U13 team meaning they were undersized, although very quick.  Usually having a size advantage is a good thing but to the girls they often worry that they may physically injure their opponents – what a caring lot.  Secondly, the Oakville team was extremely adept at playing the “offside trap”.  Owing to the fact the Stingers were caught offside on numerous occasions, there was very little flow to the match.  The Phoenix had a slight edge in possession time and more of the scoring opportunities.  The turning point came midway through the second half when a free kick played into the Oakville penalty area was dropped by the goalkeeper and Caroline pounced on the error to score the only goal of the game.

The semi-final against the Barrie Spirit “A” beckoned.  After a lengthy delay in the intermittent rain both teams played a rather non-descript match.  The Stingers down to only one healthy body on the bench by game’s end succumbed to a late Barrie tally.

A great tournament – organized and the fields were well kept.  Definitely on the fixture list for 2010, only hopefully with a different outcome.

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed in this, and all other articles are strictly the views of an interested team supporter / parent.