The Lake City Falcons senior girls soccer team punched their ticket to the ‘AAA’ provincial championships Sunday in its first season playing together as a combined high school.
The Falcons travelled to Prince George for the North Central Zone Championships, defeating Prince George Secondary School in two straight games in a best-of-three series.
The first game saw the Falcons take a commanding 3-0 lead in the first half following tallies from Sissy Reid (2) and Kendall Jensen.
Head coach Caitlin Sabatino said the second game was a much closer battle.
Jensen opened the scoring for the Falcons, however, PGSS found the twine moments later after Victoria Page attempted to block a shot and goalkeeper Morgan Moore challenged the PGSS forward.
Tied heading into the second half — despite the heat and a few injuries — Jensen notched the game winner, giving the Falcons a 2-1 victory.
“We had an incredibly committed core group of ladies this season that was a nice blend of the old Williams Lake secondary and Columneetza secondary teams,” Sabatino said. “They really gelled the last few tournaments and it’s showing in their passes, communication and overall play.”
Earlier in the season the team, made up of 20 players, travelled to California for a spring break soccer trip, playing games against three rep teams from San Diego.
In April the team played at a tournament in Chilliwack, leaving with two wins and three losses. Following that the team travelled to Summerland for a tournament, before hosting the first annual Lake City Secondary Tournament May 2-3.
Sabatino added she believes the Falcons will be competitive at provincials.
“I think they can hold their own, definitely, when we travel to Vancouver,” she said.
The ‘AAA’ provincial championships go May 29-31 in Vancouver.