Success despite no OFSAA medal

By Rob J. Ross

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

 Their year concluded at the OFSAA 1-A championship in North Bay, June 4, days after winning the Western Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association (WOSSAA) crown.

 Their only losses this season, were to a pair of OFSAA champions and an OFSAA silver medalist. LDSS lost twice at OFSAA, to the eventual 1-A champions, Welland  Jean Vanier and the runner-up, Toronto De La Salle.

  "We didn't win a medal, but the consolation is the two teams we lost too, got first and second. That's a big achievement," Dorchester coach Jason Thauer said. "We did really well. We weren't badly out played. If we had have been lucky in one of those games, maybe we would have moved on to the final."

Lord Dorchester didn't advance to the quarter-finals, thanks to both Jean Vanier and De Le Salle being in the same pool. Dorchester finished 2-2 at the provincial high school tournament, defeating North Bay Algonquin and Kenora Aquinas.

"The first two games we played really well and didn't make many mistakes. We pretty much controlled both games. Then, we lost to Jean Vanier. We were leading by a goal at half time, but a couple mistakes and lost 3-1," said Thauer. "(De La Salle) had one striker, who basically if you give her a few feet, she'd make a few moves and put it in the net. We had a couple chances to score but couldn't capitalize (losing 2-0)."

At WOSSAA, LDSS beat Strathroy Holy Cross and Goderich, in the final. The semi-final was the more dramatic of the two games. Dorchester trailed 1-0 with about a minute remaining in regulation, until the co-captains stepped up.

 Samantha Rice scored a buzzer beater, tying the affair, before Megan Voutour won the game in overtime.

That momentum carried Dorchester over Goderich, 3-0. Rice, Voutour and Jamison Estabrooks scored, while keeper Julie Piper had the shutout.

"The semi-final was a nail-biter. It was a tight match. I thought we were done. But the girls pressed and we pushed everyone up," Thauer said. "The final we won pretty handily. After we won the first game, the girls had a good feeling about the final. When we went up a couple goals, we were pretty sure we were going to OFSAA."

"I think it's the first time (LDSS) girls soccer has gone to OFSAA. That was a nice achievement for the year."

That third loss for LDSS, occurred in the Thames Valley Region Southeast final, to St. Thomas Parkside, who went on to win the OFSAA AA crown.

"They beat us pretty good. It wasn't too surprising that they won OFSAA," said Thauer.

Dorchester cruised through the TVRAA East division regular season, with a 5-0 record, outscoring opponents 17-2. In the conference playoffs, LDSS dumped Woodstock Huron Park, 4-0 and Aylmer East Elgin, 2-0, before playing Parkside for the TVRAA Southeast title, losing 4-0.

"We were proud of our regular season. We had a really good goalie and defence. A lot of the girls could play multiple positions," said Thauer. "Megan Voutour scored a lot of our goals. She made a difference. At striker, she's so fast. We put the ball through and she would run on to the ball and beat defenders. That happened so much throughout the season. Victoria Ross at sweeper was key. Having her anchor the defence was important, along with the goaltending of Julie Piper. Cassidy DaCosta was really important. We had her playing everywhere."