Miracles do exist and if you don't believe in them just ask the Quest Kermodes women's soccer team.
Heading into the weekend of action, they needed to win both of their games and also needed Capilano University to fail to win each of their games. Well, the highly unlikely did indeed happen and the girls are heading to the playoffs. To say they're thrilled would be an understatement.
"The players were crying tears of joy after the game on Sunday," said assistant coach Jonas Worth. "It really means a lot to them to qualify."
The Kermodes faced Langara on Saturday (Oct. 23) in a must win situation and the team stepped up to the challenge. The game was deadlocked at 1-1 until a last minute winner by Mari Tarleton, her second of the game, secured the victory for Quest.
But their work wasn't over. A tie by Capilano in their game against Vancouver Island University meant that Quest was exactly three points behind Capilano and a win against Capilano in their final game would secure the first ever playoff berth in Quest soccer history.
"We treated both games exactly like playoff games," said Worth. "When you have nothing to lose you can be a dangerous and desperate team and that's exactly what we were this weekend."
In harsh conditions on Sunday (Oct. 24), the Kermodes opened the scoring when Lindsay Epp's free kick was headed home by Erica Benson. Quest was up 1-0 after the first half and didn't let up in the second. Chelsey Forsberg, who was playing in the final regular season game of her collegiate career, hit a left footed chip from 25 yards over Capilano's keeper to add some insurance and finish the game at 2-0.
The historical win means the Kermodes will qualify for the postseason for the first time in the school's history. Their record for the regular season stood at three wins, six losses and two ties, good for third place in the Group B division.
According to Worth, it was a monumental weekend for the women's program, who prior to this year had never won a game in its existence.
"Going into this season our major goal was to get a home win," he said. "Then when we accomplished that earlier this season we just wanted to keep getting better. To qualify for the playoffs is very satisfying."
Worth pointed out that it is especially satisfying for the players that have been in the program since its inception.
"A lot of these players were the best players on their team or in their town," he said. "No one is prepared to lose as much as we did in the first two years in this program so for them it must feel great."
The team will now take on the Kwantlen Eagles on Friday (Oct. 29) and Worth said the team feels confident heading into the game.
"We know exactly what our concern is," he said. "We're quite similar teams but we need to focus on #10 [Shanay Sangha]. She is a special player and we need to stop her to win."
The two teams played earlier this month, with Kwantlen picking up a narrow 1-0 victory. Worth added that if the team can get by Kwantlen, they will play at least two more playoff games, which would be valuable experience for the Kermodes.
Quest will take on Kwantlen in the first round of the British Columbia Colleges' Athletic Association on Friday (Oct. 29). The game is scheduled to begin at noon and will take place at the Newton Athletic Park in Surrey.
For more information on the team, visit www.questkermodes.ca.
