Phoenix fall in SOSSA AA semifinals

The Saint Francis Phoenix girls soccer team fell just short in stifling conditions at the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AA championships Thursday at E.L. Crossley.

After regulation time ended with a 0-0 score, the Crossley Cyclone won 4-3 on penalty kicks to record a 1-0 victory and advance to the SOSSA finals later in the day.

Rylee Sammutt, Grace Kleiboer, Scarlett Steele and Evangelene Bernardi scored penalty kicks for Crossley while Carly Flora, Ella Keating and Mariana Orozco replied for Saint Francis.

Saint Francis coach Lori DiGaetano was pleased with her team’s performance

“I’m not going to say it was a tough ending because they played really well and there wasn’t anything we would change about their performance. They played with grit, they played with heart and penalty kicks are sometimes how games end. Unfortunately we fell behind but I am still proud of the effort.”

The Phoenix had more scoring chances during the game but couldn’t find a way to break through and score.

“I trusted our lineup, I trusted what we did and I still have all the confidence in them. It’s just that is what the results are.”

The year was a successful one for the Phoenix who emerged as the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association AA champions.

“It was an excellent team. They have been lovely to coach all year round. They are super cohesive, very positive, very dynamic and they have been a pleasure for the whole coaching staff,” DiGaetano said. “They should be proud of their performance.”

The squad made great progress during the season.

“We have a very balanced team from Grade 9s to Grade 12s and we did a lot of fair playing and switching through because we have confidence in all of our players,” she said. “That has united us all the way through. We have had quite a few injuries and it has motivated everybody to be flexible, to be more hardworking, perseverant and determined. That is what got us to this point.”

DiGaetano believes the future is bright for Saint Francis girls soccer.

“Three quarters of our team will be trying out to return and we have a small graduating class. This is a great opportunity to continue to build and we will see what happens next year.”

Saint Francis finished fifth in NCAA regular season play with a 2-2-3 record before blanking Saint Paul 2-0 in the semifinals and Holy Cross 4-0 in the finals.