THUNDER BAY – Six weeks or so ago, Phoenix DeBrusk had never played futsal.
As of Sunday, she’s a silver medallist in the sport, the Thunder Bay Chill U18 squad finishing second at the Ontario Winter Games after dropping an 8-5 decision to Unionville Milliken Soccer Club.
Unionville opened a 3-1 lead at halftime, scored twice in the opening two minutes of the second half and fought off a valiant comeback attempt by the Chill to capture the gold.
DeBrusk, who scored a goal, to the delight of a packed-to-the-rafters Lakehead University Thunderdome, something the goalkeeper says she’s never done before in her soccer career, said the team entered the competition with no expectations.
Winning a silver medal was a fantastic way to finish, the 16-year-old Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute student said.
“It was a really stressful game,” she said. “We just came short, but it was a really good game.”
The lack of experience didn’t hamper the team during the four-day tournament, though it did take some time getting used to the sport, which involves five-person teams – four players and a keeper – playing on a hardwood floor.
“It was actually a lot different than we expected. It was a lot more high-paced. You need to be quicker on the ball. But overall, we did really good,” DeBrusk said.
Unionville’s Titilayo Alaka, who scored three times to lead her team to victory, said winning it all at the Ontario Winter Games feels great.
“I’m super happy. The competition was really good. It was fun, and our team, we pulled through. It was challenging.”
Jumping out in front helped calm the nerves.
“Today we were really thinking we came here to win, because we came from Toronto. We just really wanted it. I feel like the previous days we wanted it, but this came from inside. We really pulled through.”
Unionville’s Ashana Kunaratnam opened the scoring early in the first half, but the Chill were quick to get it back, Aliviah Galle netting the equalizer in the eighth minute.
Alaka, 17, fired high on DeBrusk for her first of three on the afternoon, the goal coming just before the midway point of the first half. Alaka added a second of the opening half with 1:47 to go, after the Chill turned the ball over on an inbound kick. She completed the hat trick just 11 seconds into the second half, heading the ball home for a 4-1 lead.
Torrie Grant-Clavijo and Meghan Lee added tallies to up the Unionville lead to 6-1.
DeBrusk, called on for a free kick at the 11-minute mark, slammed the ball high and hard into the Unionville net, but the goal was disallowed because she had been awarded an indirect kick and no other player touched the ball.
Nonetheless, she made up for it moments later, jumping up into the play and firing a low shot through traffic that eluded keeper Riya Uppal, the goal coming after Galle had cut the Unionville lead to 6-2.
The Chill were awarded another free kick, but this time DeBrusk attempted a drop pass that was intercepted by Grant Clavijo, who raced in alone on the empty Thunder Bay net and Unionville were back in front by four.
Imogene Joseph got one back with 2:55 left in regulation and Zoesha Pearson made it 7-5 with 1:49 on the clock, but it’s a close as the Chill would get.
Adeline Lue Sang beat DeBrusk in the final minute to put the game out of reach.
Chill coach Marco Colistro said despite the loss, the team should be proud of its performance.
“I think it’s awesome for them. We came into this competition not knowing what to expect. We’ve never really played futsal before. It’s very similar to soccer, so we were able to pick up on it quickly … So I’m happy with the result and happy for the experience for our players here.”
Ottawa captured the bronze.
