A pair of Richmond soccer players have earned PacWest Athlete of the Week Awards after leading their respective teams over the weekend.
Defender Natalie Long had a fantastic weekend in helping the Langara Falcons secure four points.
The Falcons tied the Capilano Blues on Saturday, and eaked out a 2-1 win against the Quest University Kermodes on Sunday.
Long not only helped anchor a stingy Langara backline which really limited the Blues scoring opportunities, she also scored Langara’s only goal in the 1-1 draw as she calmly converted a penality kick in the first half.
On Sunday, she again led a strong backline that continually stifled the Quest attack, stepping up and getting stuck-in to tackles to win ball after ball. Long was a force in the air defensively as well as she used her prowess on offence to head home Langara’s second goal of the game midway through the final half from a well-placed corner kick.
The Richmond secondary graduate is one of several local players on the Falcons’ roster this season, joining Lauren Tasaka (McMath), Alyssa Graeme (Steveston-London), Tessa Tasaka (McMath) and Ravnett Bhatti (Cambie).
Meanwhile rookie forward Max Tagesen was a key component for the Quest Kermodes in a pair of weekend games.
After a 1-1 draw at Kwantlen on Saturday, Quest regrouped by beating the Langara Falcons 2-1 in Squamish on Sunday.
The Hugh Boyd grad scored the game winning goal which ended a long losing streak as it was the Kermodes’ first PACWEST league victory since October 2011, a winless skid that spanned 32 games.
With the Kermodes leading 1-0, and 10 minutes left in regulation time, Langara equalized.
The Kermodes’ urgency and quick ball movement got them into scoring range. When the opportunity presented itself, Tagesen punched in a left footed shot to take the lead for good.
Tageson is one of two local graduates in their first-year with the Kermodes. He is joined by defender Theo Lorenz (McMath).
