Taiawentetie Hemlock came close to netting a goal several times Tuesday night, as she and the Mohawks’ U16 squad continue to develop on the indoor pitch. With a goal in the bank, the Kahnawake Mohawks U16 girls are looking forward to building more cohesion and steal a win or two before the winter break. (Daniel J. Rowe, The Eastern Door)
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In the first half of the lady Kahnawake Mohawks Under-16 indoor soccer team’s game Tuesday night against Soulanges at the Catalogna Soccerplex, forward Ietsistohkwiio Delisle broke the egg that had been obnoxiously sitting on the team’s scorecard up to that point in the season.
“I was so happy when I scored it,” said Delisle of scoring the team’s first goal in three games played.
“One of the girls passed the ball up to the right corner and the other forward went for the shot and missed, and I ran in there, saw the ball coming right at me, and it was perfect timing.
“The goalie had just fallen on the ground and I had no one on me at that second and I just went for the kick and it went straight past everyone into the net.”
Goooooooooooooal!
Unfortunately for Kahnawake, Soulanges U17 proved too much on the night, and won 4-1, but not without a fight from the young squad made up of players from last year’s U16 and U13 teams respectively.
The mix in players on this year’s U16 team means some are more experienced and bigger, while the younger ones have to work to play against faster and older girls.
“It’s pretty hard because they’re older and taller than me,” said 12-year-old Hazel Kirby Lazare, who played in net for the first half, and forward for the second. “They pass more and run faster.”
Hazel’s twin sister Haylee also made the jump from U13 to U17, and logged quality minutes in Tuesday’s game.
She spoke about the need to work harder to not get overrun by her older opponents.
“They’re faster, and you have to try and keep up, and play your spot,” she said.
The young team showed signs of improvement in Tuesday’s game and will play in 36 Hours of Soccer tournament this weekend at the Stade de Soccer de Montreal.
The tournament will be an ideal opportunity to play against other teams closer to the girls’ actual U16 age group.
Game one is tonight at 10 p.m. against the U15 Ahuntsic Braves.
The U18 Mohawks had the week off this week and play Pointe Claire Tuesday at Catalogna. Kahnawake has played just two games thus far and will look to book the team’s first win of the season. Carmen Fraser leads the team with two goals in two games.
