While their star teammate was busy lighting up the scoreboard for Canada, the Richmond Red Hot Selects were taking care of business back at home.
The U18 girls Metro squad continued its dominant season with a 3-0 win over Surrey FC Pegasus in the Coastal Cup final, played on Saturday afternoon at Minoru Park's stadium field. Including regular season and cup play, the Red Hot Selects have won 18 of 19 games, as they wind down one of the most successful runs in the history of the Richmond Girls Soccer Association.
What makes their cup final win even more impressive is they produced a two goal result without their best player.
Summer Clarke is currently with the national team at the CONCACAF Women's Under 17 Championships in Guatemala where the attacking midfield/forward has enjoyed a spectacular tournament to date.
Clarke leads the tournament with six goals in three games, highlighted by a hat trick in her team's 6-0 opening win against Panama when she earned player of the game honours.
The Louisiana State University recruit then added another goal in a 4-0 win against Jamaica, before notching a pair, including the game winner, in a 6-1 triumph over Guatemala on Sunday.
Clarke helped Jasmin Dhanda open the scoring in the 22nd minute then scored her first of the match, soon after Guatemala had equalized. She add her second when she showcased her outstanding speed to run down a through ball then neatly walked around the onrushing Guatemala goalkeeper before tucking the ball into the yawning net.
The three wins secured Canada first place in its pool and a semi-final date with Mexico on Thursday. The top three teams in the CONCACAF qualifying tournament will qualify for the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup in Azerbaijan, Sept. 22 to Oct. 13.
Corner kicks....
. It was almost another significant achievement for the Clarke family as Summer's younger sister Jade helped Richmond Synergy reach the U14A Coastal Cup final where the home side dropped a 20 decision to the Central City Breakers.
