The future looks bright for the Bow Valley senior girls Bobcats after a late-season surge that ended with a silver-medal performance in the Tier II zone championship, Oct. 17.

The Bobcats emerged undefeated from the round-robin to challenge the Bert Church Chargers in the gold medal game.

A goal early in the second half gave the Chargers a 1-0 win, good enough for gold. Leading up to the final, the Bobcats toppled the Chargers 3-2, beat the Brooks Buffalos, 5-0, and downed the George McDougall Mustangs, 2-0.

Bobcats chargers 8Sofia Preece (#11) scored all three goals for the Bobcats in their 3-2 win against the Chargers in the round-robin.

Bobcats coach Matt Baugh says he's is proud of the team's season.

"I think we showed a lot of progress. We beat Bert Church this morning and we're really happy with that result. They're a tough team."

The Chargers finished third in Rocky View divisional play.

"We are doing some things well, like moving the ball, and it's getting better all the time. We have been working on some of the strategies and are developing game sense. Things are trending the right way, and we have a lot of the girls coming back next year."

He gives kudos to Charger defender Tianna Headley for making a difference in the final.

"She's a really strong player. She's hard to get behind," says Baugh.

Bobcats team manager Rhonda Carr also eyes the future with optimism. 

"At the first of the year, it was just the club players playing well together," says Carr, "Now they all are."

The early victory against the Chargers was exciting, she says. A healthy lead against Brooks also allowed them to give their grade 9 players a wealth of experience by playing the entire second half. 

The Bobcats won two of their last three games of the regular season to climb to a fifth-place finish. On Oct. 15, they lost to the W. H. Croxford Cavaliers, 2-1, in the quarterfinals of Rocky View divisional play.

The Tier I south-central zone teams take over the Rangers Field for the next two days. That tournament is being hosted by the Cochrane Cobras, Oct. 18-19.

Poor weather has delayed the balance of divisional playoffs until next week. On Oct. 22, the second-place Cobras host the Chargers. That same day, the Number One ranked Springbank Phoenix team is at home against the Cavaliers. Airdrie is hosting the finals on Oct. 24.

Bobcats Chargers 3