For the second straight year the Reynolds Roadrunners won the Ryan Cup senior girls high school city championship in overtime over Oak Bay.
This time it was a 2-1 win, on the turf field at the University of Victoria, to give Reynolds its third straight Ryan Cup and fourth in the past five years, having won it in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
READ MORE: Oak Bay girls soccer leads school into spring season
“We were fortunate to beat Oak Bay last year in the overtime and to do it again is a testament to the girls’ will,” said Reynolds coach Mike Warren, an educational assistant with the high school. “Even in the last minute they had the belief.”
Oak Bay’s lone goal came at the end of the first half from promising Grade 9 Jade McKee, who played right back. It was a blistering shot off a place kick that the Reynolds keeper Halle Blum got her hands on but couldn’t block from going completely in.
The Bays owned the run of play in the first half but the momentum shifted and it was Reynolds who led the pace in the second half. Reynolds stole the game out from Oak Bay with a last-minute goal in regulation by Queen’s University-bound striker Cecilia Way and then were able to win it when Halayna Peskett scored on a breakaway in the second half of overtime.
“The team is disappointed, it’s hard when you’re less than a minute from winning,” said Oak Bay coach Kate Baker. “It’s tough to swallow but we’re proud of them and how they handled it.”
Ryan Cup photos: Oak Bay player Jade McKee's penalty kick (from near centre) slipping through the hands of the Reynolds goalie for a goal. Jasmine Lee gets shot past Reynolds goalie (to be stopped by #20. Also a diving stop by Reynolds goalie. It was close. (Reynolds won 2-1) pic.twitter.com/zZexLI4Y3B
— travisApaterson (@TravisAPaterson) May 8, 2019
At one point in the first half Bays forward Jasmine Lee had the ball inside the Reynolds 18-yard-line. Lee managed to evade the Reynolds goalie for a shot on net only to have it blocked by a Reynolds defender.
“We had our chances and the bounces didn’t go our way,” Baker said. “It’s always nice to win the best in the city but moving forward we’re looking at bigger things, starting with Islands on Monday.”
If anything it was another another step in the development of the Bays, who have three Grade 9 regulars in their squad, including the goal scorer McKee.
“With McKee, we’re just pushing her to build her confidence and know her ability,” Baker said. “We’ve given her the green light and she’s coming along.”
The two teams are favourites to win their pools at the AAA Islands which start Monday. Oak Bay is hosting Pool 1 and Reynolds hosting Pool 2 at Braefoot. Both teams start at 9:30 a.m. The Island final is Tuesday, 2 p.m. at Oak Bay High.
