MacArthur hits mark for Phoenix
KITCHENER — When it comes to kicking a soccer ball with accuracy, she has bad days and she has good days.
On Monday, it was the latter. Haley MacArthur turned in a three-goal performance to lead the Resurrection Phoenix to a 4-0 win over the Père-René-de-Galinée Chevalières in District 8 girls soccer league playoff action. Victoria Silveira added a fourth goal in the 78th minute and Olivia Derks recorded the shutout as the reigning champions controlled long stretches of the match at Resurrection Catholic Secondary School.
“I can’t hit the net most of the times,” laughed MacArthur. “I have my days and today was a good one.”
The attacking midfielder, who plans to attend Conestoga College in the fall, will attempt to pick up where she left off Wednesday when the Phoenix take on the St. David Celtics in one of two semifinal games. The Woodland Cavaliers, who scored a 2-0 upset win over the St. Benedict Saints on Monday, will face the St. Mary’s Eagles in the other semifinal.
MacArthur, a Grade 12 student who also plays basketball and volleyball at Resurrection, competed last year for the Phoenix soccer team that made it all the way to the all-Ontario (OFSAA) championship. Many of the top players from that team have moved on, but MacArthur is optimistic this year’s edition has what it takes to make a little noise in the coming weeks. The Phoenix were 3-2-1 won-lost-tied in regular-season play, a record that includes a 2-1 loss to the Celtics on April 30.
“We’re missing a few key players from last year, but Ms. Godkin (Resurrection head coach Claire Godkin) knows where to play us and gets the most (out of the lineup),” MacArthur said. “I think we can go pretty far, we have a pretty strong team.”
Resurrection is a well-balanced, physical team that is loaded with sister combinations, starting with the trio of Jada, Jailyn and Janelle Ward. There’s also Victoria and Brooklyn Silveira, Brynn and Ciara Morgan, and Abby and Kayla Kraemer.
MacArthur scored in the 21st, 30th and 50th minutes in a game that was never seriously in doubt. Chevalières goalkeeper Alliyah Rowe was her team’s top performer and couldn’t be faulted on any of the goals. Cleo Graves and Sierra Sheridan were also strong for Père-René-deGalinée, which saw its hope of reaching the Central Western Ontario (CWOSSA) single-A tournament end with Woodland’s surprising win over St. Benedict.
In Cambridge, Elissa Gibson and Sydney VanderHoef did the scoring for the Cavaliers, who were 1-4-1 in regular-season play. Erin Ensing recorded the shutout to end St. Benedict’s (4-1-1) season. Père-René-de-Galinée would have advanced to CWOSSA with a St. Benedict victory.
The post-season portion of the Waterloo County (WCSSAA) soccer leagues begin Tuesday with eight playoff qualifying games on the docket. In girls play, it’s Jacob Hespeler at Southwood, Waterloo-Oxford at Cameron Heights, Glenview Park at Elmira and Galt at Preston, while for boys, it’s Grand River at Preston, Jacob Hespeler at Forest Heights, Galt at Bluevale and Huron Heights at WCI.
Rugby
The KCI Raiders will attempt to win their fourth consecutive WCSSAA girls rugby championship Wednesday when they host the Waterloo Vikings in the title game.
The Raiders and Vikings advanced to the final by posting semifinal wins Monday — KCI crushed the Bluevale Knights 49-5 and WCI dominated the Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders 45-10.
Maddie Hobson and Natalie Armatage led the KCI attack with 15-point outings, Makilda Addico had 10, Maddie German chipped in with five, Abbie Stryuk and Milla Sayavongsa had two each. Sarah Porter scored for Bluevale.
Melissa Berry scored 20 points for WCI, Bailey Duff had six, Rhiannon Braid, Hannah Pamplin and Ramla Abdalla had five each, and Karley Breen had two. Gracelyn Shantz scored for Waterloo-Oxford.