Round one of the Okotoks girls soccer derby goes to the north.
The Holy Trinity Academy Knights used a four goal first-half to edge the Foothills Falcons 5-1 in the Foothills Athletic Council senior girls soccer clash Thursday afternoon at Falcons field.
"We come in strong and focus from the start," said Knights striker Kyleigh Van Oirschot. "A lot of us have played together before so we work well together.
"It's exciting, they're always a good team to play against."
Van Oirschot put the Knights in command with a pair of goals in the opening minutes.
The Grade 12 striker opened the scoring off a cross from her partner in attack, Masse. She quickly tallied the brace on a solo-effort, finding the corner of the Falcons goal.
Foothills put the visitors under pressure for much of the middle of the opening half with tireless work at the top of the formation from striker Amanda Mitchell leading to a few chances. Hailey Fuzessy nearly found the back of the net on a free-kick from 25 yards out, a harbinger of things to come, and Bella Gaggero had a shot from distance just sail over the goal.
HTA weathered the storm and countered with two more goals before the end of half.
Knights winger Alexa Evis was absolutely robbed on a fingertips save by Falcons goalkeeper Olya Klepacheva.
"Though we don’t have a formal keeper (Olya) bravely faced the onslaught of shots—what a remarkable young athlete," said Falcons coach Christine Victor-Horner. "You wouldn’t even know she wasn’t a full-time keeper as her movements are so natural as are her instincts in the box. We were grateful that she stepped up."
Off the ensuing corner, midfielder Genevieve Jeeva found the back of the net. Just three minutes later the Knights made it a four-goal cushion when Masse curled in a left-footed strike at the edge of the box.
"I think we're aggressive and go where the ball is," said Masse. "And we all have individual skills so we drive with the ball."
Knights midfielder Grace Friesen, one of nine impressive Grade 10 rookies on the team, added the fifth marker, cutting into the box from the left-wing and firing a powerful shot into the far corner.
"We have a lot of potential," Van Oirschot said. "We have a lot of rookies, but they're all really good."
Foothills got on the board late in the second half in style.
Fuzessy stepped up and delivered what can only be described as a screamer of a free-kick from 40 yards out to break the shutout bid.
"HTA’s a challenging opponent with incredible experience on the field, so if we can hold our own, it’s a win for us," Victor-Horner said. "We’re looking forward to tussling with them this season and earning some rewards for our efforts."
The Falcons were rewarded for a strong kick-off to the 2019 season in a 3-1 win over the Canmore Crusaders on the road on Sept. 17. The Knights overpowered the Strathmore Spartans in a lopsided opener in Okotoks the same afternoon.
Next up for the Falcons is a Sept. 24 clash versus the Spartans in Strathmore while the Knights battle the Crusaders in Canmore.
