Elite women retain CIFA President’s Cup

Elite Sports Club 2016/17 CIFA President's Cup Champions

Elite Sports Club beat Sunset FC 3-0 Wednesday, 1 March, in the final of the CIFA President’s Cup to retain the trophy they won a year earlier.

It took just over half an hour for Elite to take the lead as the teams appeared equal on the pitch in the rematch of the 2016 final. The scoreless deadlock was broken in the 31st minute, when Shanice Monteith fired a shot toward goal and a deflection from Sunset’s Brittni Ebanks saw the ball beat her teammate Jovani Hessing between the pipes.

Unfortunate as the deflection and the outcome might have been for Sunset, Elite took the 1-0 lead thanks to the pressure they put on goal, which was doubled five minutes later. Tyanna Jan’s corner kick connected with Jesika Ebanks’ boot in front the goal and it was celebration time for her.

Jesika Ebanks celebrates her goal.

Elite held a 2-0 lead at the half. Though Sunset tried to claw their way back into the game, Elite pressed on and were rewarded in the 59th minute when Monteith found the back of the net to extend the lead to three goals.

Apparently unwilling to sit back and wait for the referee’s whistle, which was about half an hour away, Elite played as though the score line was closer. Despite their attacking play that left their back line vulnerable, Elite held on for the win with striker-turned-keeper Shanelle Frederick keeping a clean sheet for the back-to-back cup champions.

Monteith, the Elite captain, was full of praise for the effort her teammates put in at the Annex. “The team did a really good job, coming out strong from the beginning knowing that Sunset was going to come with their best for this game and just to be mentally strong and come out and get the win,” she said.

The attacking midfielder said it was important for her to set the tone with her style of play for the others to follow. “A lot of the girls look up to me and it’s just for me to perform every game, to better myself and bring positive energy to all my teammates because they depend on me,” Monteith said.

Head coach and club president Martha Godet said it was great to see the results from the hard work the players put in on the training pitch. With her side ahead in the league standings and the finish line in sight, Godet said it’s important for the team not to lose focus in the pursuit of more hardware.

“Every game is a final for us, so the focus is always there and that is something that we discuss and try to get them motivated. We have two more games and hopefully everything goes well and we could secure the league as well,” she told CaymanSportsBuzz.com.

Monteith shared that mindset. “We just want to focus on our next two games…to go out and get those victories and win the league and go on and win the FA Cup also.”

Starters:

Sunset FC – Anne Bjorge, Brittni Ebanks, Jayme Farrel, Martha Hall, Jovani Hessing, Brianna Hydes, Rai Kalpana, Derricka Neysmith, Justina Range, Lauren Scott, Elena Testori.

Elite SC – Shanelle Bennett, Petrina Bernard, Jesika Ebanks, Marlena Elwin, Shanelle Frederick, Shenel Gall, Tyanna Jan, Shanice Monteith, Tamoy Phillips, Brianna Poy-Fong, Yesenia Prado.

Officials:

Referee – Bobeth O’Garro; Assistant Referees – Marlon Johnson and DeAnn Foster; Fourth Official – Carline Reid-Willis; Match Commissioner – Jennifer Powery.

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