Earning Hardware

June 7, 2018 · 0 Comments

PHOTO: JAKE COURTEPATTE

THE SEASON MAY be young, but the Under-17/18 HEADS Hurricanes women’s soccer team has already earned some hardware – and on home field no less. The Erin-based team brought an unbeaten tournament record to a championship victory in the annual HEADS Up Cup, bringing teams of all ages from across Southern Ontario together for a two-day festival. A defensive-minded system of play led to a 0 – 0 tie with Ancaster in the round robin’s opening game, before a tight 1 – 0 win over Brantford granted the Hurricanes a spot in the quarterfinal. Sunday morning brought about a 3 – 1 win over Dunville to continue their advance, while a pair of 1 – 0 wins over both Ancaster and the finalist Cherry Beach gave the Hurricanes the hometown title. Despite mostly consisting of an amalgamation of players ranged 15 – 18 from across multiple regions, including Caledon, Erin, and Orangeville, the diverse Hurricanes team has played to an undefeated record through ten league, exhibition, and tournament games so far this season. “Most of these players have all been playing competitive (rep) level soccer for many, many years, but not all on the same team throughout their careers,” said coach Chris Hannaford, who added that the team is largely a result of a merging of multiple local clubs. With one championship under their belt already, the crew will be looking to add to the trophy case internationally when they visit Spain in July for the Donosti Cup, held in the coastal city of San Sebastian.

“In our age group, there are 40 teams registered, 25 of which are from Spain,” said Hannaford. “We are the only Canadian entrant, with other entrants coming from Iceland, USA, Mexico, Columbia, UK, France, Congo and Zambia.”

The HEADS Up Cup, as well as another tournament in September, uses profits to help offset travel costs. The team also organized a euchre tournament in February, raising over $3,000, while the Optimist Club kicked in $1,000 for their hometown club.