Hockey goalie helps Eagles blank Redcoats
Kara Thomas is a force at left centre defence for the Grimsby Eagles girls soccer team.
“She’s solid, she’s reliable and when she’s the last man back, I can breathe,” Grimsby coach Erika Smith said. “We are going to be sad to see her go. She encourages her teammates and helps them along the way.”
The Grade 12 student, who had been playing soccer since age six, had a strong game Thursday to help visiting Grimsby record a 2-0 victory over the Governor Simcoe Redcoats in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association play.
Thomas doesn’t play any travel soccer, but uses her background as a goalie for the Flamborough Falcons midget AA squad to shut down the opposition on the soccer field.
“I am goal keeper so stopping the ball is a big part of playing defence,” she said. “That definitely helps out a lot.”
Soccer doesn’t pay the same dividends to hockey.
“I’ve kind of brought hockey to soccer and it’s a much different game,” she said. “Soccer is a lot more running but being a goalie I am very agile and that helps me on the field as well.”
The cardio training for hockey also comes in handy on the soccer field. Thomas is heading to Brock University in the fall and hopes to try out for that school’s hockey team.
The Redcoats fell to 1-1-1 in NRHSAA play with the loss while Grimsby improved to 1-0-1.
“We lost some great players from last year, but this year they have really come together, they’re working together and we have then coming to practice,” Smith said. “We have a lot of grit and the girls have a lot of determination.”
Grimsby scored on almost all the opportunities it had Thursday and Smith believes that is a reflection of her team.
“They want things to be perfect, but I am encouraging them to take the shots and take the long shots,” she said. “They are much more comfortable shooting inside the 18 and finessing it a little bit, but we have to get the shots on net to increase our chances.”
Simcoe coach Aaron Potalivo was happy with his team’s performance despite the loss. His squad had plenty of opportunities to score but couldn’t finish.
“We played well today and I am happy with how the girls played,” he said. “We created a lot of scoring opportunities, but we couldn’t get it in the back of the net and that’s sometimes how it goes.
“On the other end, they had a couple of chances and they buried them.”
Potalivo likes the look of his roster this spring.
“We are really fortunate because we have a lot of Grade 9s and that gives us a really deep roster,” he said. “A lot of girls were injured today, but we were able to bring in some of those younger players and they played great.”
Potalivo sees a lot of parity in the league and expects every game to be a struggle.
“On any given day, any one of these teams can win and I think we saw it here today.”
Smith agrees the league is balanced.
“We have only seen them and Eden and they are very comparable and it’s going to be whatever the way the wind is blowing,” she said. “It’s going to be a great season and it’s going to go down to the last minute.”
STATS PACK
Eagles 2 Redcoats 0
Mick and Angelo’s/Johnny Rocco’s Player of the Game: Grimsby’s Kara Thomas with a strong game on defence.
For the Grimsby Eagles: Goals by Ardin Keizer and Maddy Estabrooks; shutout by Delaney McLeod.
For the Governor Simcoe Redcoats: No scoring.
