CAPERS 17s GIRLS ONE STEP FROM PROVINCIAL FINAL

MIDFIELD MAESTRO...Alyse Tierney scored twice for the CAPERS U17AAA Girls to take her season's tally to 10 goals from the middle of the pitch.

CAPERS Girls Academy Play-Off weekend got off to a dramatic start on Friday afternoon as the U15AAA Girls tied their quarter-final 2-2 with Suburban FC only to lose a penalty shootout 3-2 and bow out for the summer.

The island squad were seeded at no6 against the no3 team in Nova Scotia but looked on the brink of a big upset as goals from Ella Mills and Norah MacDonald had them two up at the break.

Suburban courageously fought back, though, to tie it up and edge through leaving CAPERS Head Coach Kuvy Moodley to sigh: "We were so good in that first-half, the girls executed our game plan perfectly.

"We were very close to the win but just couldn't hold on. That, though, couldn't lessen the way I felt about our team. I was hugely proud of them."

Outgoing Soccer Assistant Technical Director Kuvy will now have the chance to concentrate on his physiotherapy studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax and he goes with all the thanks and best wishes of everyone involved in soccer on the island.

The action careered on later on Friday evening for the CAPERS Academy as the U17AAA Girls tackled South Shore United in their play-off quarter-final and they romped to a 5-1 win with a double from influential midfielder Alyse Tierney and goals from Ava MacDonald, Allison Wadden and Brooklyn Wasson.

With Head Coach Mitch Hanna on duty on the road with the CBU CAPERS Women's team in AUS action, Assistant Coach Damien Barry is in charge and he said: "The girls were excellent and our progress was never really in doubt, we were also able to get 45 minutes into the legs of every player we have in the squad which was great."

The NSSL Cup runners-up now face Inter Halifax at 5pm tonight (Saturday) for a place in the Final against either Suburban FC or Halifax County United.

Back on home soil the U13AA CAPERS Academy Girls got off to a flyer in their first game against Halifax City at Ness Timmons Field when a brilliant Claire Kaupp through ball sent Evelyn Power in on goal for the 28th goal of an incredible season.

CAPERS were dominant in the first-half but couldn't quite kill City off and their rivals stormed back into it to secure a 1-1 draw in an excellent match-up.

The island girls now face Suburban FC at 5pm Saturday night and UDFC tomorrow morning (Sunday) at 9am as they battle to win a place in the Final.