They were perhaps slightly passive, gentler bulldogs in the first half, but turned into ferocious pitbulls in the second.
Ultimately, the Belmont Bulldogs senior girls soccer team sank their collective teeth into a first ever Ryan Cup championship, battling back from a 2-0 halftime deficit for a 3-2 victory over the Lambrick Park Lions in the highly entertaining Lower Island final at the University of Victoria on Thursday afternoon.
“It’s amazing to be able to win a Ryan Cup. I mean, it was great just being here. To actually win it is astounding,” Belmont assistant coach Lloyd Powell said after the win. “The whole school is so proud of them.
“I thought they displayed a ton of guts to come back from down 2-0. They did so well to get back into the game plan and not panic or give up.”
Kate Payter finally put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard in the 48th minute, finishing off a cross as Belmont came out and pushed hard.
Emma Entzminger then drove a shot just wide for the Lions that would have restored the two-goal lead that Emily Aspden had provided them in the 23rd and 44th minutes of the opening half — the second off a wonderful through ball from Claire Ethier.
But Kristen Livingstone made it 2-2 in the 55th minute as momentum totally shifted in Belmont’s favour as the Lions were caught back on their heels.
“As soon as the momentum changed I noticed that Lambrick went out of its offensive game and dropped into a defensive shell. That played into our hands and our girls just gutted it out,” said Powell, who was without head coach Bud Livingstone.
The Bulldogs continued to put on the pressure and Marisa Livingstone gave them the eventual winning goal in the 60th minute, finishing off a give and go with Maddy Yesaki.
“We were a little scared because we just got off our game a bit,” Marisa, a Grade 11 striker, said of being down at the half. “We got back to one-touch, two-touch soccer and after the second goal I felt like we could get another one.”
She managed it herself shortly after taking a knock in the back that sent her briefly to the sideline. Marisa had already been playing with a banged up foot she suffered in Tuesday’s semifinals. Her older sister Kristen, 18, was playing with the flu.
“This is an unreal feeling,” said Marisa. “It feels so good to win. You definitely don’t get too many of these opportunities.”
The Bulldogs also got fabulous defensive play out of Kathy Forbes, who did a wonderful job of reducing Entzminger’s chances as the talented Lions’ striker was kept in check.
“We were hesitating and it let them back in the game, which was unfortunate,” said Lions co-coach Lauren Goodmanson.
The Lions may have become a little too comfortable with the 2-0 lead and didn’t handle the momentum swing well.
“We stressed to them about the 2-0 lead. It’s probably the worst lead to have in soccer,” said fellow co- coach Melissa Orton, whose team now prepares for double-A Islands that go Monday and Tuesday at Shawnigan Lake.
The triple-A Islands will be at Hampton and Braefoot parks. The Bulldogs — who are in a pool with Dover Bay, Stelly’s and Cowichan — now go in with their first Ryan Cup title.
