Dreams can come true

By Sam McCaig

Once again, the opponent was the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds.

Once again, the two squads battled to a draw at the end of regulation time.

Once again, two 15-minuteovertime periods solved nothing.

So once again, the CIAU women's soccer championship was to be settled via the gut-wrenching route of penalty kicks.

There was, however, one slight difference this time around. Namely, the Dalhousie women's soccer team returned to Halifax Monday night as CIAU champions.

The Tigers avenged last year's heart-stopping loss to UBC by prevailing 3-2 after outscoring the Thunderbirds 5-4 on six penalty kicks.

After ninety minutes of regulation play, the two squads were tied 2- 2. Jane Walton of the Tigers accounted for all of the scoring in the first half when she drove a direct free kick from the top of the box past the UBC keeper in the 25th minute. However, the Thunderbirds showed the true colors of a championship team by scoring twice within the first five minutes of the second half. Not to be outdone, the Tigers battled back to tie the match when courageous forward Dana Holmes headed in first team All-Canadian's Carla Perry free kick in the 6lst minute.

The two overtime frames decided nothing and it was on to the do-ordie penalty kick format. Dalhousie's first five shooters were Perry, Kate Gillespie, Valerie Hutchings, Walton and Pam MacDonald. After the initial five strikes by each squad, the two teams were knotted at four goals apiece. This meant a sudden-death showdown where one player from each squad would take a penalty kick until someone was stopped and a victor could be declared.

Karen Hood was the first Tiger shooter and she buried her opportunity deep into the UBC net. Then, she celebrated along with the rest of her teammates as the sixth UBC shooter's blast hit the post and stayed out.

"I really wanted to take one (a penalty kick) ... when it came to the sixth shooter, someone called my name and I took off my coat and ran out onto the field. Someone told me that it (the ball) went into the top left corner ... I just know it went in," commented Hood on her winning goal.

The team came directly to the Dalplex from the airport on Monday · night for a reception that attracted about 400 well-wishers. After having 24 hours to dwell on the magnitude of their victory, they were still obviously overwhelmed but fiercely proud of what they had accomplished.

"Right now is absolute satisfaction, it's indescribable," stated fourth year striker Kate Gillespie. "It's starting to sink in and it's hitting us now; being back here (Halifax) really brings it home."

Dana Holmes- who injured her left foot in Friday's game but persevered and played in the final-said, "I'm not feeling any injury right now when I'm holding this medal. It's sweet ... this team had a lot of heart and desire and I'm really proud of them."

Keeper Leahanne Turner- who earned second team All-Canadian honors - added, "We wanted it more. When I stopped the first penalty shot, I thought, 'Yeah, we're bringing it home'."

Before bringing it home, the Tigers first had to get out of their pool. The road to the final was highlighted by a 2-0 victory over the Western Ontario Mustangs on Thursday and a 1-1 draw with the Alberta Pandas on Friday. Saturday witnessed the Mustangs and Pandas battling to a 2-2 saw-off, giving the Tigers the best record in their respective pool and a birth in Sunday's final.

Gillespie- the leading scorer in the AUAA this year and a second team All-Canadian - provided all of the offense on Thursday by potting two goals against the Mustangs.

On Friday, AUAA all-star Holmes notched Dal's only marker in the tie against Alberta. In what could have had tragic consequences, Holmes suffered her foot injury about midway through the second half and was forced to play injured for the remainder of the match and was doubtful for Sunday's final. However, the fifth-year student would not be denied and suited up for the gold medal game.

Head coach Neil Turnbull was proud of Holmes' efforts, saying, "Full credit to Dana. She wasn't 100% but she did what was asked of her. She went out there and really performed."

Turnbull -who has spent two seasons at the helm and has a CIAU gold and silver to show for it-said of his short but impressive legacy, "We're building a tradition that is respected right across Canada. It's a start and hopefully it'll just get better."

He continued, "It's very sweet. I'm very proud to be associated with this team, they're a fine group of young women and good ambassadors for the university."

"I feel relief that the season's over; we had some inconsistencies but those just make the championship that much sweeter. I don't know if right now, the players appreciate the fact that they beat such a good team," he added.

Turnbull concluded by noting that, "I feel that the saying that number two tries harder is a falsehood. I think champions have to work harder to stay on top. We're going to rest a bit now and then start preparing for next year."

Can't wait, coach. Can't wait.

First published in the Dalhousie Gazette vol. 127, issue 11 on November 17, 1994