Chris Raeside, CapU Athletic Events and Sport Development Officer with files courtesy of the CCAA,
Despite a pair of heartbreaking penalty kick defeats at the 2021 CCAA Women's Soccer National Championship, the Blues have much to be proud of.
The Blues came from behind in the Provincial Championship gold-medal final to defeat the Douglas Royals 2-1 earning their first provincial championship since 2007. Catrina Olstrom was named Tournament MVP.
Claire Ye and Kayla Campbell were named CCAA All-Canadians. Claire Ye was also named the PACWEST Women's Player of the Year while Kayla Campbell was named the PACWEST Rookie of the Year and head coach Dennis Kindel was named the PACWEST Coach of the Year.
Thursday, November 11th: Vanier Cheetahs 0, Capilano Blues 0 (Vanier wins PKs 5-4)
In what turned out to be an all-time classic for women's soccer, Vanier and Capilano dealt blow-after-blow, looking to book a spot in the gold medal match.
The Cheetahs put pressure on the Blues all match long, putting 14 shots on net but were unable to find the back of the net.
As time in regulation neared an end, CCAA Player of the Year Latifah Abdu found herself alone in the box, but Alexa Gazzola made a diving save for the Blues to send the match to a penalty shootout.
The Cheetahs were automatic from the spot, burying all five shots in the shootout. Keeper Bianca Stevens-Cardin made one save and it was all Vanier needed to earn a gold medal spot in their first season.
The 4imprint Players of the Match were Bianca Stevens-Cardin of Vanier and Julia Peyton of Capilano.
Friday, November 12th: SAIT Trojans 2, Capilano Blues 2 (SAIT wins PKs 7-6)
In the first bronze medal semifinal match of the day, the SAIT Trojans made a wild comeback to edge out the Capilano Blues in a penalty shootout, 7-6.
In the 27th minute, Catrina Olstrom for the Blues was clipped and fouled in the box giving the Blues a penalty. Captain Adrianna Babinski steps up to the mark and converts the penalty with ease with SAIT keeper Erin Mergen guessing the wrong way and giving the Blues a 1-0 lead.
In the last minute of the first half, Capilano was granted a free kick in their end and blasted it down the pitch to Olstrom who beat Mergen one-on-one and added another tally for the Blues.
Meaghan Weibe put SAIT on the board in the 58th minute with a poor clearance from Olstrom in the Blues box and Weibe took advantage and scored a screamer from just outside the area.
The Trojans tied it up in the 66th minute with an astonishing shot from Kenzie Georgsen who turned and shot from the dead centre outside the box and managed to hook it over Blues keeper Sabrina Lam.
The match went to penalties and SAIT beat Capilano 7-6 in penalties after eight rounds with Alyssa Macpherson nailing the last penalty for the Trojans.
The 4imprint Players of the Match were Erin Mergen for SAIT and Lauren Grey for the Blues.
