Wild FC dominate Halifax for first ever Nothern Super League win
A dream start with three goals in the first 25 minutes fueled the Calgary Wild FC to their first ever victory in Northern Super League history, beating the Halifax Tides FC 4-1.
'I thought from start to finish, we dominated,' said head coach Lydia Bedford of her team's commanding win. 'For us it's about being front-footed, from an out-of-possession perspective we wanted to show our intensity and from an in-possession perspective we wanted to show the calmness that we've been there and done it in the NSL and we know how to control the game.'
After getting blanked in the League's inaugural match last week against the Vancouver Rise FC, a new-look starting lineup wasted no time cranking up the heat on a soggy, cool day in the Maritimes, scoring twice in the opening seven minutes, and three times in 25 minutes.
Meikayla Moore's name will go into the history books as the first ever goal scorer in Calgary Wild FC. The three-time Olympian kicked things off by jumping into the box, and successfully converting a header behind Halifax goalkeeper, Erin McLeod.
'I'm absolutely chuffed to get on the board, especially our first goal for the club, it's really special,' said the Wild FC defender. 'Scoring goals is not my mainstay as a defender, but whenever we get an attacking free kick, especially in that area, it's certainly my job to try to put my head on it and today I was able to.'
Moore took a high-curling pass from 17-year-old Taegan Stewart, who along with her twin sister Keelyn, are the second youngest players in the league.
'It was surreal to have the assist on the first ever Wild FC goal. As soon as I saw the ball coming to me, I knew I had to hit it back post and Meikayla was there to get her head on it. I'm super excited, but we now we need to keep going and keep scoring,' said Taegan who made her first professional start.
'As soon as I found out the starting line-up I was nervous but the girls supported me through the whole 90 minutes and Keelyn reminded me of all the things I've done to get here and all the people who have supported me, this is for them and my hometown club.'
The determined squad from the Stampede City were relentless on their attack. Five minutes later, captain Megan Dougherty-Howard jumped on loose ball off a corner kick from Jaclyn Sawicki and banked it off a Tides defender to sneak it into the corner of the net.
The Wild FC added one more tally before heading into the locker room at half-time. Two quick passes from Moore and Sarah Griffith ended up on the foot of Aussie, Kahli Johnson, who booted her first of two in the match.
Halifax broke Wild FC's shutout at the 60-minute mark when Markia Guay put one behind goalkeeper, Stephanie Bukovec, from the box for their lone score out of nine total shots.
Controlling possession for 61 per cent of the match, the Wild FC made the Tides pay for a defensive lapse at the 81-minute mark when Kahli Johnson notched her second tally of the evening to put the game out of reach.
'It's always good to get the season off to a good start. I was happy to go out there, play our way and score on two good chances. Obviously, we want to score goals, that's how you win games but equally we know how important defence is and I think our backline and goalkeeper really showed how good they can execute that tonight and it was a really good game all around,' said Johnson of her two-goal night and team performance.
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