CHARLES TWEED/Ponoka News
The Ponoka Fusion under-16 girls’ soccer team faced off against the Camrose Titans in the Central Alberta Soccer League on May 24 at the Ponoka Composite High School field.
Ponoka came into the contest with a record of 2-1-1, while their competitor had a record of 1-1.
The match was back and forth all night with both squads missing some opportunities in the box. When the whistle blew to sound full time the Fusion found themselves on top 5-4 to push their record to 3-1-1 and sitting in sole possession of first place in the league.
“The game was easily our best performance as a team,” said coach Gurjit Sandhu. “We were passing the ball around as a team, not scared to pass it backwards and use the whole width of the field.”
Sandhu, who coaches with Cameron Horan and Jaimie Wipf, credited his team’s defense and keeper for some of the early season success.
“They scored four goals against us but I thought our defense was very solid throughout the game, never giving them anything easy and our goalie Chloe Jensen has made some big saves this season. She has played very well in the early part and we expect her to continue as she is gaining more and more confidence every game.”
The Fusion, who sport eye-catching pink and black uniforms, got contributions from Bailey Wipf, who scored one goal and an impressive four-goal performance from the team’s striker, Morgan Dool.
“Morgan is probably the best goal scorer in the league. You can hear the other teams before the game starts saying, ‘Make sure that number 31 is covered at all times.’ Even though it makes it tougher for her she still pulls through with a goal or two every game or in the case against Camrose, four,” said Sandhu.
Dool, a multi-sport athlete, will also compete for Team Alberta in basketball this year and has played a key role in the early season success of the Fusion, but Sandhu said it’s been a total team effort that has led to the results.
“The season has been very successful so far and every game we play we can see improvement from the girls, individually and as a team,” said Sandhu.
The Fusion’s next home game is against Lacombe on June 2 beginning at 7 p.m. at Centennial Field.