Given the season that was, the final result was hardly ever in doubt.
The Springbank Phoenix high-school girls' soccer team coasted to their first Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) championship in six years on Oct. 20, shutting out the Cochrane Cobras 6-0 at Airdrie's Monklands Park.
The one-sided win means the Phoenix ended a four-year winning streak the Cobras had enjoyed in the RVSA since 2018. Springbank had finished runners-up in three of those four seasons.
“It feels really good. All throughout high school, we’ve always wanted this,” said Eleni Georgacacos, a Grade 12 midfielder for the Phoenix. “This year, we had a really good team and came out really confident. It felt really good to finally put some goals in the net against them and get the win. It’s cool.”
The Cobras and Phoenix have been rivals for the RVSA's girls' soccer banner for decades, and the two teams typically challenge each other for the division title every fall.
But that rivalry has skewed in Cochrane's favour for the most part. According to RVSA archives, the Cobras had won 14 of the last 16 league titles up until this year, while the Phoenix won the other two.
“I think the girls, this year they really wanted it,” said Springbank Community High School teacher Danielle Hughes, who co-coached the Phoenix this year alongside fellow Springbank teacher Shaylynn Tell.
“You want to win every year, but this year in particular... I don’t think we’d beaten Cochrane at divisionals since 2016. I think it was just a little more special for these girls to play against a team and school they know really well. Some of them play club with [Cobras players], so for them to beat them in this way was special, and kind of historic, in a way.”
The Phoenix dominated the championship game from the opening minute. With an efficient high-press and fast break, they built up an early lead over the Cobras and didn't look back.
Grade 9 player Ally Tannas had a particularly great game, notching a hat-trick for the Phoenix.
“I think we did really well keeping the ball on the ground, keeping possession and not forcing it,” Georgacacos said. “Our team has a lot of skilled players and we took advantage of that.
“[We have good] combination play, passing through the middle and breaking lines with quick passing and decision making.”
According to Georgacacos, the Phoenix's supremacy this season was a result of their pre-existing chemistry with each other and the high number of talented players on the team who also play competitive club soccer outside of school.
“We have a lot of club players and a lot of us have played together before, so we have that chemistry between us,” she said. “That also really helped us this season.”
To say the Phoenix were good in 2022 would be an understatement. Springbank went unbeaten in both the RVSA and the South Central Zones tournament – in which they also beat Cochrane in the final, 3-1.
Showcasing their dominance, Springbank scored 60 goals in the regular season and only conceded once (in a 6-1 win over the Cobras). The team averaged more than 10 goals per game in league play.
After their dominant regular season, they coasted into the RVSA title match after beating Bow Valley 14-0 in the semi-finals.
“They’re super talented, and today I think they just came out super focused,” Tell said. “They knew Cochrane was going to bring it, and they were just focused from the get-go, which is sometimes hard to get from a bunch of girls.
“But today was their day, for sure.”
Cobras head coach Carolyn McLeod said it was disappointing for Cochrane High to surrender its banner to its biggest rival. She said the Cobras put up a much better fight against the Phoenix the weekend before, when they were outscored 3-1 in the zones final.
But with a few players nursing injuries, it made matters difficult from the offset of the Oct. 20 final.
“We got beaten up pretty good [in the semi-final] on Tuesday, physically, so some of our players were hurt coming into this game,” she said. “It was hard from the start, because we had girls playing not at 100 per cent.”
Cochrane was a deserved runner-up in the RVSA this season, their only defeats coming at the hands of the Phoenix. The Cobras scored 41 goals across the regular season and playoffs, and conceded 14 – 12 of which were in their two games against the Phoenix.
“[The Phoenix] are pretty strong from front to back and we just couldn’t find any openings,” McLeod said. “They had a strong game today. Our girls couldn’t get it done. Getting scored on early made it tough.
“It wasn’t our day, unfortunately. But we’ve got young players. We’re losing four [Grade 12s], which is not too bad. We’ll see if we can rebuild and get back after it.”
Bobcats finish fourth
On the adjacent field, the Bow Valley Bobcats were shut out 3-0 by the Bert Church Chargers in the bronze-medal game.
Despite the loss, Bobcats players were in good spirits after the match, adding the team had shown positive growth throughout the season and put up a fight against the Airdronians.
“I really liked the team this year – we won in team spirit, said Myla McGuinness, a Grade 11 midfielder.
“I’m really happy we made it this far this year. I think we got fourth overall, so that’s not too bad.”
McGuinness said the Bobcats' future bodes well, as they'll have some talented players joining the team or taking on new leadership roles in 2023.
“We have a lot of good incoming athletes in Grade 9,” she said. “I think this year, we were a bit fresh as a team together, because we lost a lot of seniors last year, but I think next year we’ll be really good.
“We had a lot of injuries this year too and a new goalie, and a lot of new players.”
