The Quest University Kermodes women's soccer team was sent packing early from the Pacwest soccer provincial tournament last week, losing to Thompson Rivers University (TRU) WolfPack in a penalty-kick shootout on Friday (Oct. 28).
The two teams remained locked in a 2-2 draw after 120 minutes of action and TRU secured the win by beating the Kermodes 4-2 in the shootout.
"It's disappointing and sad because it's never a fun way to lose in penalty kicks, especially when you're up a goal and to have the tying goal come from a simple corner kick," Quest head coach Martina Franko said following the game. "It's frustrating and sad for a team that's worked so hard and played so well."
The Kermodes had a short-lived 2-1 lead when Jamey Horth scored in the 80th minute but just two minutes later, the WolfPack tied the game. Earlier in the game, Quest's Gellie Raguin-Licas opened the scoring in the 53rd minute but TRU equalized just seven minutes later.
Quest can take some solace in the loss, as TRU went on to win the championship and the Kermodes proved to be the WolfPack's toughest task on the road to the title. TRU eventually beat the host UBC-Okanagan Heat in the provincial final on Sunday (Oct. 30).
Despite the early exit for the women, the 2011 season was the most successful in the school's history. The team established team records in wins and points. It also set a new school record by winning five consecutive games to kick off the season. The only downside to the year was that after the red-hot start, Quest didn't win in its final seven regular season games.
For the men, it was a disappointing end to the season. A Pacwest ruling saw the Douglas College Royals have all their games erased but the real winner in the ruling was the Kwantlen Eagles, who picked up six points and catapulted past Quest into a playoff spot. Quest only picked up three points from the ruling and then was forced to play Douglas in the final weekend of the year, battling them to a draw. As a result, Quest narrowly missed the playoffs for the third straight season.
Men's head coach Jonas Worth sent a letter of protest to Pacwest officials but he told The Chief that the league upheld its original ruling, with no explanation given to the team.
The conclusion of the season also means it was the final time for several graduating players to don the green and white. Moving on for the women's team are Samadhi Bouchard, Baylee Wilkinson, Brittany Shalagan, Lindsay Kay Epp and Shannon Nordling. Bidding adieu for the men are Ben MacGregor, Mawuena Mallet, Jonathan Friedman, Lucas Menz and John Aikens-Slade.
The players were honoured with a ceremony before the final men's home game of the season on Oct. 23.
For more information on Quest athletics, visit www.questkermodes.ca.
