The Glengarry Hearts U12 Girls opened their season with a win over the Ottawa Internationals in Lochiel on Monday night.
The hearts are the youngest team in the league as over half the team are U11 players playing up a year. In a league where most teams play together 12 months a year and practice three times a week, the expectations for the squad were tempered as going into Mondays game they had only had one practice.
Glengarry carried much of the play in the first half as the internationals struggled to get through the defensive line anchored by star defender Eileen MacCuaig. The Ottawa goalkeeper kept the game close in the first half as she stopped striker Haley Jackson on two breakaways in spectacular fashion.
Undeterred, the Hearts would not be denied in the second half. Allie McCuaig scored her first of the season off a pass from Haley Jackson. Minutes later Jackson would add a goal of her own from a nifty feed from Kara Fraser to make it 2-0. Fraser converted a penalty kick to make it 3-0 and Jackson capped off the scoring with her second of the night on an odd man rush with Alysia Beaulne and Emily Quesnel.
Hearts goalkeeper Ramielle “Ram” Pilon came away with the clean sheet. Although she was not tested often her thunderous dropkicks were offensive weapons as she constantly cleared the half way line on each kick.
On the defensive end Hearts fullback Adelle Golden had an impressive first outing making several key stops. “I was really impressed with Adelle tonight. Her and Aly Beaulne worked extremely hard, I mean the whole team did, but those two stood out” commented coach Jason Jackson.
The U12 Hearts next game is next Monday night when they travel to Cornwall to take on their arch rivals the Seaway Valley Blazers.