A back-and-forth battle at Evans Park on Sunday morning ended in a narrow loss for the Cowichan Cougars.
Jenna Waddy scored twice for the Cougars, who ended up falling just short in a 3-2 loss to the Prospect Lake Lakers in a Lower Island Women’s Soccer Association O30A match.
Waddy finished off a nice passing play to open the scoring in the first half, but the Lakers responded almost immediately, then quickly went up 2-1. The Cougars battled back and earned a free kick deep in the Prospect Lake end, which Waddy curled into the net to even the score.
The Cougars continued to press after the half, but the Lakers’ goalie was up to the task and turned aside all Cowichan chances.
“This was definitely one of the better goalies we faced,” Cowichan coach Darian Achurch noted. “The ladies were creating a number of chances but we couldn’t turn them into goals.”
The Lakers were generating chances of their own, and eventually earned a free kick of their own deep in the Cowichan end. Cougars goalkeeper Sara Day reached to tip the high shot over the bar, but the ball still managed to slip into the net. The Cougars battled hard to tie the game, but ran out of time.
“It was a very even game,” Fresh Kenny’s Player of the Game Michelle Steeves commented. “It really could have gone either way.”
The Cougars will be back on their home field this coming Sunday, hosting Vic West at Evans Park at 10 a.m.