The Argyle Pipers senior girls soccer team went undefeated on the North Shore this season to earn a berth in the provincial AAA championships, but not without getting pushed to the brink on the way there.
The Pipers finished first in regular season play with a perfect 6-0 record, handing Handsworth and Sentinel three losses apiece. Come playoff time, however, things got very tight in Argyle's first elimination game, the de facto North Shore final against Sentinel played May 6 at Windsor secondary.
The Pipers took a 1-0 lead into the halftime break but the Spartans fought back, knotting the game at 1-1 in the second half. The score stayed that way through regulation, sending it to the dreaded shootout.
"It was competitive," said Argyle head coach Darren Rath. "We had numerous chances to score, a number of breakaways that we failed to capitalize on."
The Pipers prevailed in the shootout, however, earning themselves a matchup against Burnaby North, the champions of the Burnaby/New West league, with a berth in the provincial championships on the line. This time there
was no doubt as Argyle scored a decisive 4-0 win over Burnaby North Monday at Lillooet Field.
Argyle will now set their sights on the provincial championships scheduled for May 28-30 hosted by Stelly's secondary in Saanichton. Rath has taken a number of Argyle teams to provincials during his long tenure as head coach - last year the Pipers finished seventh and in 2013 they won it all when the championships were held at North Vancouver's Inter River Park - and he likes what he's seen from this year's group.
"If we have everybody healthy and available, they're an extremely strong,
talented group," he said, adding that he's always wary of unexpected events that can derail an otherwise exemplary season. "We'll see what comes - you never know on a daily basis, sometimes. Unfortunately there are many unpredictable aspects."
Argyle was listed at No. 7 in the latest provincial AAA rankings.
At the AA level the North Shore scored both of the provincial berths up for grabs, knocking off their rivals from the Burnaby/New West zone. Windsor secondary, runaway winners of the North Shore league with a perfect 6-0 record, booked their spot in the provincial championships with a 4-2 win over Burnaby's No. 1 squad, St. Thomas More, Monday at Burnaby Lake
Sports Complex West.
The Seycove Seyhawks, who finished second in the North Shore AA league had to take a much longer route but ultimately ended up at the same place. Seycove began their playoff run with a 1-0 win over Sutherland May 8 and followed that up with a 2-0 victory over the No. 2 team from the Burnaby/New West zone, Alpha secondary.
That sent them to one final test, a winner-take-all matchup against St. Thomas More held Wednesday at Burnaby Lake, that Seycove won 2-1. Both Seycove and Windsor will suit up in the AA provincial championships scheduled for May 28-30 and hosted by Crofton House School at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex West.
