It was a save for the history books.
Vernon Christian Royals senior girls soccer keeper Lente Delport, a Grade 11 student, dove to her right to stop the sixth penalty kick from Kelowna’s Aberdeen Hall Gryphons.
With that save, Delport gave the Royals and school its first B.C. Senior Girls provincial championship in school history in any sport.
“Lente played fantastic all week, earning herself the Golden Glove as the goalkeeper of the tournament after completing four clean sheets out of five matches in the tournament,” said Vernon Christian head coach Jordan Sevenhuysen.
“However, I think she would be the first to say that the whole team deserves credit for our stingy defensive record, especially in the final.”
Aberdeen Hall came into the B.C. Senior Girls A Soccer Championships in Kamloops as a clear favourite, scoring 28 goals over their previous four matches, but could not find the net against that Royals’ stingy defence through 70 minutes of regulation time, and 30 minutes of extra time. “We had a game plan that the girls executed brilliantly, and they deserve all the recognition for that,” said Sevenhuysen.
Team captains Rory Engelage, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, Andrea Beaumont, and Cella Fourie were successful in their penalty kicks, as were Sadie van Veen, Brynn Zuidhof, and Madeline Dyck, setting the stage for Delport’s diving save.
To get to the final, the Royals gave up just one goal, and that came in the first match of the provincials, a 4-1 win over Vanderhoof’s Nechako Valley Viqueens. VCS needed penalty kicks to beat Okanagan rivals Revelstoke Avalanche (0-0, 4-3 PK), then closed out the round-robin with a 3-0 win over the St. John Brebeuf Bears of Abbotsford.
In an all-Okanagan semifinal, the Royals blanked the St. Ann’s Academy Crusaders of Kamloops 2-0, setting the stage for an Okanagan Valley championship rematch with Aberdeen Hall for the B.C. banner.
The Gryphons beat Vernon Christian 2-1 in extra time for the Okanagan title.
“It seems to be that way every year, with us trading wins and losses in incredibly close matches,” said Sevenhuysen of the rivalry with the Gryphons. “I have full respect for the AH coaches and players for how they compete, and congratulations to them on a great season as well.
“As the tournament progressed, you could see the girls’ belief start to grow, and they definitely hit their peak at the right time,” said Sevenhuysen. “All credit to the players for their willingness to invest so much into the team this season. As coaches, we are extremely proud of them, and they are fully deserving of this championship.”
Reaching the provincial tournament was a season-long goal for the Royals. The coaches threw the girls into difficult situations early in the season against tough AA and AAA competition down in Metro Vancouver, knowing growth would come out of those uncomfortable competitive situations.
“We also had a chance to meet with the coaches at Trinity Western University (Langley) during that preseason tournament, which I think really helped set the bar high early in the season and showed the girls what excellence looks like in all aspects of life,” said Sevenhuysen.
The Royals bought into the culture and process that Sevenhuysen and assistant coaches Mark Engelage and Madi Overend set out.
The three captains have been with the team since Grade 8, and Sevenhuysen said their leadership and excellence of character really set the tone for the rest of the team.
There were six Grade 12s on the team this year; Katelyn Stewart joined in Grade 9, and Mikaela McPhee and Annika Broersma were new to the team this year.
“The core of this team has been to as many as five provincial championships, giving them the experience to persevere through what’s always been a challenging tournament format,” said Sevenhuysen.
“We have girls that have played over 100 matches in a Royals shirt and experienced all the highs and lows that come with sport, all important building blocks towards this pinnacle moment.”
Sevenhuysen has been coaching VCS soccer teams since he began teaching at the school in the fall of 2015, though he didn’t have enough girls to run a team until 2017. Since then, he’s had more than 200 student athletes playing soccer for VCS.
“In the end, this championship is a culmination of hard work that goes way beyond a single season,” he said.
“The core values, morning workouts, team building, and mentorship represent a culture set by past leaders.
“This trophy belongs to all the players over the past decade who helped build the foundation and pass the torch. I can see the fingerprints of so many alumni on this team, and I’m deeply grateful for their legacy.”
• The B.C. Senior Girls AA championships were also played at McArthur Island Park in Kamloops.
The Vernon Panthers finished 15th in the 16-team field, beating the Matthew McNair Marlins of Richmond 1-0 in their final game of the tournament.
VSS was outscored 17-0 in their three preliminary round losses to the Mark Isfeld Ice of Courtenay, Southridge Storm of Surrey, and Sir Charles Tupper Tigers of Vancouver.
The Cats fell 2-1 to the LV Rogers Grizzlies of Nelson in their first consolation round match.