From Halifax – by Richard Scott

You would be at your peril if you neglect the champions of any sport. If Holy Cross FC was a team of destiny in 2022, they are the team to beat in 2024 at the Canada Soccer Toyota National Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Last year, the St. John’s club became the first Newfoundland and Labrador women’s team to win the Jubilee Trophy as national champions. Originally from the easternmost province of Canada, they capitalized on their status as “outsiders” and remained undefeated against the so-called “larger” provinces.

Now that they are national champions, they are unlikely to surprise their opponents in 2024, but that may not stop them from repeating as national champions in Halifax. They’re a special team and they have a special player in offensive winger Jane Pope, the MVP of the 2022 final in Vaughan, Ont.

“We’ve been working at this for a long time with a few core girls and we just believe in ourselves,” said Pope, now playing in her sixth national championship since 2014. “Last year in our first game against Victoria, we came out on fire. , we were leading 4-0 after 20 minutes, then we simply succeeded. We’re from Newfoundland, so teams can (think) take advantage of us sometimes, but we used that as our advantage in this tournament last year and we’re trying to do that again this year.

Pope was a deserving MVP last year after scoring five goals and six assists in four games. Holy Cross finished the tournament with 16 goals, the best goals per game average ever by a Newfoundland and Labrador team in the Jubilee Trophy final.

“I guess I’ve been working at it for a long time and just learning from previous years,” Pope said after his two-goal performance in the opening game of the 2023 Nationals. “I’m trying to get in shape as well as possible and just use the support of my team. They definitely help me be the player I am and I wouldn’t be here without them or without our coach (Noel Stanford).

To win this year’s National Championships, Holy Cross FC will need to finish first in Group A to reach the final after round-robin matches against Winsloe-Charlottetown FC, Edmonton Drillers, Fredericton Picaroons and Surrey United SC . If they succeed, they will meet the Group B winners on Teck Finals Day in the Monday final at Mainland Commons (9:30 a.m. local / 10:00 a.m. NT / 8:30 a.m. ET / 5:30 a.m. PT).

In Newfoundland and Labrador, Holy Cross FC won their eighth consecutive provincial title, including securing their fourth consecutive title against the Feildians AA in the 2023 final. Pope scored 17 goals in 18 league matches before the playoffs playoffs while teammate Teri Murphy scored the only goal of the 2023 final.

“We went back and forth with them, but when the finals came, we were able to score that one goal and come here,” Pope said of the team’s journey to the Nationals. “It was definitely a battle, but we managed to get through it as a team and we’re happy to be here.”

Pope is one of 16 returning players from last year’s Nationals and is part of a group of players who have been together for more than a decade. Nine Holy Cross players won a 2013 youth runners-up medal at the 2013 Canada Soccer U-18 Cup. Five of them – Pope, Alyssa Armstrong, Connie Lewis, Jessie Noseworthy and Noelle Stanford – also won a youth finalist medal. at the Canada Soccer U-16 Cup in 2011.

As Pope said, the group has been together for a long time and it’s the team’s trust in each other that has helped them excel on the national stage. They came to Halifax with one clear goal in mind: to defend their title and become the first team from Newfoundland and Labrador, men or women, to repeat as national champions.

With Pope on offense, the opportunity is right in front of them. Don’t expect their opponents to underestimate them again.