The McMath Wildcats found out the hard way just how cruel the format at the B.C. AAA Girls Soccer Championships can be.
The Steveston school entered the 16-team tournament as the province's No. 1 seed and showed why by going unbeaten in six games, including five victories. Yet, the impressive run was only good enough for a fifth place finish thanks to a small playoff window and a tiebreaker rule.
The Wildcats lost out on first place in their pool group when they battled to a scoreless draw with eventual champions Fleetwood Park Dragons then were edged in the penalty kick tiebreaker. Up until recently, goal differential served as the tiebreaker which would have given the Wildcats the edge. Unlike field hockey, provincial high school soccer does not have a quarter-final round, with only the four pool group winners staying in championship contention.
Instead, McMath finishes off the provincial podium having not lost a game this season.
Head coach Stephen Burns saw his team carry much of the play against Fleetwood but fail to convert four or five quality scoring chances.
"I really do believe McMath is the best team in the province this year," said Burns who also watched his South Delta team fall 3-0 to the Dragons in the final. "We knew what the rules are and it's hard to accept, but there really is nothing else the girls could do. We had the chances to score but just couldn't bury them. It's pretty tough when you didn't lose a game all season."
The Wildcats opened the tournament with a 6-1 win over Cranbrook's Mt Baker and closed out preliminary play with a 3-0 triumph against Belmont of Victoria. Facing other second place group finishers to determine fifth through eighth place, the girls had to defeat two more quality opponents - first blanking Argyle 2-0 then getting past a strong team from Kelowna on Saturday morning, 2-1.
Burns, a teacher at South Delta secondary, says he intends to coach both programs again next season. His daughter Ali is a Grade 10 student at McMath. He also relied on the help of student assistant coaches Theo Lorenz and Kourino Hazebrouck.
The Wildcats roster includes: Grade 12s - Courtenay Bergunder, Delaney Booker, Emily Carver, Ashley Kidd, Stav Kimhi, Emma Partridge and Tessa Tasaka. Grade 11s - Sophia Koutsandreas, Rachel Kwan, Georgina Magnus, Chelsea Simpkins, Sarah Street. Grade 10s - Ali Burns, Montana Leonard, Carmen Milne, Hannah Partridge, Ellie Reid, Claire Reynolds, Claire Sequeira and Jessica Zawada.
