Survival forward and keeper Mya McGregor is a footballer opponents may want to not underestimate, as her lightning pace and quality touch makes her a threat before goal at any given time. (Daniel J. Rowe, The Eastern Door)
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Kahnawake Survival School’s Juvenile girl’s soccer team kicked the season off in style Wednesday, shutting out Lower Canada College with a quality 2-0 win.
Survival plays Lakeshore Academy this afternoon at home at 3:30 p.m.
Survival and LCC were knotted at the half though it was the girls in burgundy that looked the better team, pushing into the LCC half and just missing on a number of attempts.
Enter Mya McGregor.
The diminutive no. 4 played keeper for the first half and traded gloves with Kawennitákhe Norton for the second and took the striker position.
The 12-year-old ran at the LCC defence from kick off, leaving the red back line in her wake on a number of occasions. About 15 minutes into the half, the inevitable happened and McGregor chipped a slick shot past the keeper to make it 1-0.
Survival kept control of the game with midfielders Watewennenhawihtha Goodleaf, Kenzie Kane and Iakaonhawinon Mayo jumping on and fighting for every ball, bouncing through the middle of the pitch.
Survival got a cushion goal off a corner kick after Taiawentetie Hemlock thumped a thunder bastard in the back of the net to make it 2-0.
“I wasn’t expecting it to go in from where I kicked, but when it did I was surprised,” said the winger.
What did McGregor make of how her team played?
“Hard and good,” said the grade seven phenom. “They were everywhere.”
Survival’s team will have to work for wins, as players range from grades seven to 11, whereas many teams will be entirely grade 10 and 11 players.
Count on the experienced players to guide the younger ones, as the season progresses.
With a win in the books, Mayo spoke about what she liked from her team.
“I saw a lot of hustle coming from all over,” she said. “I’m really happy with how good we looked playing as a team, considering some of us never played with each other. We could work on communicating more, but other than that, we’re on a good track.”
