The Mount Baker Wild girls soccer team returned with a different result in each of their trio of games at a tournament in Couer d’Alene over the weekend, posting a win, a tie, and a loss.
The squad made their annual appearance at the Bill Eisenwinter Hot Shots tournament, a huge event that draws over 200 teams from around the northwestern U.S. in various age divisions, according to Wild head coach Jimmy Robinson.
The Wild’s first game on Saturday was a dominant affair for the Mount Baker girls, however, the match ended in a tie against a squad out of Pullman, WA.
“It was controlling, it was our pace, it was our style, it felt really good, and that’s what I think went wrong, if you will, because we got too lethargic, too unfocused,” said Robinson, “and the other team got a garbage goal so it ended up 1-1, but it definitely should’ve been our win.”
Mount Baker followed up with a 2-0 loss against a team that was the toughest they’ve faced all season, which came in from Bozeman in Montana.
“They were a big, strong, fast, skilled team,” said Robinson. “They were one of the best teams we’ve played all year and it got a little rough, it got a little intense, but it was good because I was telling the girls that’s exactly what we’re going to see when we’re down in North Van [Provincials] so we ended up losing that one 2-0 but we played very, very well.”
The Mount Baker went into Sunday with one more match against a team out of Helena, and came together to pull out a 1-0 win in what was a pretty aggressive match, said Jordyn Lee, a midfielder with the Wild squad.
“Jimmy said we had nothing to lose, so we might as well leave it all out there,” Lee said. “He told us to just go out there and have fun—win or lose—and it was a competitive game that we all just wanted to win.”
Robinson added that the team was very composed after their tough loss the day before, and a few changes to the game plan also helped out.
“We switched a few things up formation-wise and it seemed to work very, very well,” Robinson said.
Lee said that even though the game got a little rough, her team was able to stay in the game.
“Our last game, they were aggressive and getting really frustrated—the ref was really good about calling it both ways—but we managed to keep up with them and kick up our aggressiveness as well,” Lee said.
Wild soccer team hosting skills camp
The Mount Baker senior girls soccer team is organizing a one-day camp for Grade 5 and Grade 6 students as a fundraiser for their trip to provincials at the end of the month.
The girls will work with the kids all day with a morning and afternoon session teaching skills and passing on their soccer smarts to their young charges.
“[Things like] trapping, passing, how to get open and create space, and then we’ll have mini-scrimmage games and stuff like that,” said Jordyn Lee, a Grade 12 student who plays centre midfield for the squad.
Lunch will be provided by Boston Pizza, and kids will receive a T-shirt, which is covered by a $50 registration fee.
After the afternoon session, the Wild soccer team will end the day with an alumni match against former Wild soccer players.
The camp will be at Mount Baker Secondary School on Saturday, May 25, with thiscoming Thursday (May 16th) as the registration deadline.
Any Grade 5 or Grade 6 students interested in attending the camp can talk to their elementary school principals, which should have registration information.