PCSL

Xtreme Get 2009 Off to Good Start
CMFSC women pick up four wins in first week of season

May 19, 2009

Coquitlam, BC - The Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC Xtreme got the 2009 Pacific Coast Soccer League season off to a good start, as their Premier and Reserve squads combined for four wins out of five games over eight days. The Premier women won their two games over the long weekend, while the Reserves went 2-1 in their early week action.

The Reserves got things started last Saturday taking on Richmond SC away. The Xtreme overcame some early nerves and rust to take command in the second half to win by a convincing 4-1 margin. Marti Dumas (Surrey) led the way with a pair of goals, while Michelle Francis (Port Coquitlam) and Lauren Hendricks (Maple Ridge) added the singles.

On Tuesday evening the Reserves continued the early season roll with a solid 3-1 victory over North Shore Stars at Carson Graham in North Vancouver. Again, the Xtreme were slow to get going but sorted themselves out soon enough to get control of the match. Veteran striker Sarah Boulton (Pitt Meadows) accounted for all of the scoring, registering the hat trick.

The Xtreme machine derailed on Thursday night, however, as CMFSC faced their third straight road game, this time in Langley against the always tough Fraser Valley Action. Three games in less than a week appeared to have taken its toll on the group, as the Xtreme were disjointed and a step off from the opening whistle. This allowed the physical Action side to take control, and scored the only goal they would need early in the second half. The final score holding at 1-0 for Fraser Valley.

With the Reserve slate of games out of the way, the Premier group took centre stage with a pair of games on the long weekend. First, the Xtreme hosted North Shore Eagles. CMFSC showed surprisingly good form given it was their first match as a group.

Despite some obvious rust on some players who hadn't played competitive match in weeks or months, the Xtreme played a tremendously effective team game, and were well deserving of the convincing 3-1 win. North Shore actually opened the scoring midway through the first half, but the Xtreme replied in the half's closing minutes when Lauren Lachlan (Port Moody) headed home a cross from Coquitlam's Jessica Fleming. In the second half, Deanna Palmieri (Burnaby) scored the winner, and Ari Adams (Maple Ridge) added the insurance.

On Saturday, the Xtreme welcomed first-year Premier side, Chilliwack SC, to the confines of Charles Best. This was a much tougher match, as the expansion Chilliwack group played with good intensity and were ready to work for the full 90 minutes. Both teams had quality scoring chances, as well as few near-misses in their own ends, but the difference was a single tally from first year player Marti Dumas, leading the Xtreme to a hard-earned 1-0 result.

CMFSC Xtreme general manager Scott Fletcher was pleased with the results over the week. "We wanted to get off to a good start, but we knew it would difficult. It was alot of games to play in the first week, particularly given the light training camp we had. I felt the coaching staff did a tremendous job of preparing the players, some of whom played in all five games, and the players as a whole did a good job responding to the challenge."

The CMFSC Xtreme continue play this coming weekend with a trifecta of games featuring the two squads. On Friday the Premier Xtreme will host the always tough and bitter rival, Fraser Valley Action (Friday May 22 - 7:30pm @ Charles Best). Then on Saturday afternoon, they travel to South Surrey to take on Semiahmoo SC (Saturday May 23 - 2:30pm @ South Surrey Athletic). Meanwhile, also on Saturday, the Reserve squads of the same two clubs will kickoff against each other at Charles Best (Saturday May 23 - 2:30pm @ Charles Best).