BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI

The Chronicle

With the Concordia football Stingers on the road Saturday, a sponsorship deal was worked out between the university and the Greater Montreal Athletic Association.

It allowed all level one and -three bantam, midget and juvenile girls’ and boys’ high school soccer championship games to be played on its Loyola campus stadium’s two artificial fields. As a result, despite the heavy rain that fell most of the day, the field was still playable. The precipitation combined with cold temperatures and a biting wind, was a different story. That resulted in many players not being able to feel their hands at times, making for probably the most uncomfortable conditions in recent time for games of such importance.

Four area level-one schools bore the weather and played for city titles, with one returning home with a championship banner and gold-medals to show off to schoolmates on Monday morning. In an all-West Island midget girls’ showdown, St. Thomas defeated Macdonald 3-1. Meanwhile, in bantam girls, Queen of Angels Academy lost 2-0 to Vincent Massey Collegiate while in juvenile girls Pierrefonds Comprehensive dropped a 2-1 decision to Sacred Heart School of Montreal.

“I can only speak for our team, but I don’t really feel the conditions played a role in our game,� said St. Thomas head coach Sue Broden. “That’s what soccer is about. Our girls played very well as a team on the field, that’s what counted in the end. They passed the ball beautifully out there, knowing where to fine each other on the field.�

They also knew well enough to pass the ball to Miriam Laleg, a member this past season of the under-16 AAA Lac St. Louis Lakers squad that qualified for nationals in New Brunswick. The talented striker scored all three goals for St. Thomas, and was named Most Valuable Player of the game as a result.

“We had a lot more time and space out there,� said Laleg, a Pointe Claire resident who was also part of the u-14 provincial team that won silver two years ago in Prince Albert, Sask. “But you know, we worked hard as well, particularly every time they penetrated our zone. This win is going to be great for school spirit.�

Macdonald, which finished in second place in its division with a 4-1-1 behind St. Thomas at 5-0-1, actually jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the game on a Stephanie Parnell goal, but with three key players missing for various reasons and perhaps fatigue, they couldn’t hold on.

“I believe we got a little cocky after taking that lead,� said Macdonald head coach Nick Perron, actually a student at Macdonald. “I also have to believe if conditions were better, we would have given them a better battle.�

Pierrefonds Comprehensive juvenile girls fought hard as well, but fell behind 2-0 and simply couldn’t mount a complete comeback against a bigger Sacred Heart team that entered the game with momentum on their side, having shocked a powerful and undefeated John Rennie team in last Thursday’s semifinal.

“I’m still proud of our girls for winning silver,� said Pierrefonds Comprehensive head coach Kate Lagendyk. “They were a classic example of a Cinderella story. None of them had played together before this year and none had played AAA soccer. All were AA players. Yet, they came together as a group that came to within one game of winning a city championship. Most importantly, many will be back next year, and as a result, the future looks very good for next year’s juvenile girls’ team.�

For full results of all games played on Saturday, go to www.gmaa.ca.">www.gmaa.ca.">www.gmaa.ca.