Cowichan Valley soccer teams fared well against competition from across the province at the Okanagan Icebreaker tournament in Kelowna over the Easter long weekend.
Two Cowichan teams finished third in their respective divisions, and a third team had an impressive showing despite coming together just in time for the tournament.
The Cowichan U14 girls Gold team placed third in their division after steady improvement over the course of the tournament. After an opening loss to Mackenzie, the team tied Vancouver 0-0, then beat a Prince George team 1-0. That qualified them for the bronze-medal match against a different Prince George team, which Cowichan beat on penalty kicks after being tied 1-1 at the end of regulation.
Team manger Darren Hart gave a lot of the credit for the win to goalkeeper Chloe Bruce.
“She stood on her head,” Hart said of Brace. “She was definitely a standout. The whole team played well, but our goalie was head and shoulders in terms of keeping us in the game.”
Also placing third at the tournament was the Cowichan U13 girls Gold team. The team tied Vernon 2-2 in their opener, then lost 2-0 to Kamloops and beat Nelson 2-0. They went on to beat Nelson again 4-0 in the bronze-medal match.
The U12 Cowichan team, a select squad of girls who were playing together for the first time, won one game and lost two.