Young Griffons band together for shot at women’s Final in Halifax

From Halifax – by Richard Scott

Don’t take your eyes off a young CS Mont-Royal Outremont team at this year’s Toyota National Championships in Halifax. They may not have the age or experience as the so-called big teams in Group A, but the Montréal-based club have worked their way to the top of Group B after a trio of wins to open just their second appearance at the Jubilee Trophy women’s competition.

Well, make that a second National Championships only for their goalkeeper Léa Palacio-Tellier, one of the veterans on the club at 26 years young. The rest of the Griffons, as they are nicknamed, are all taking part in their first National Championships in the adult category.

As of Friday night, the Griffons needed just one more point to clinch a spot in Monday’s Jubilee Trophy Final on Teck Finals Day. If they win Group B, they’ll meet the defending champions Holy Cross FC in the 2023 Final at Mainland Commons on Monday 9 October at 09.30 local (08.30 ET / 05.30 PT). The match will be broadcast live on Canada Soccer’s Youtube page CanadaSoccerTV. Fans can also follow the Toyota National Championship through Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter featuring the hashtag #ToyotaNatChamps or by visiting the competition website at https://canadasoccer.com/events/toyota-national-championships/.

“It was just this year that we moved up (from the youth level) to this category and we won our league,” said Griffons captain Sofia Ricciardelli. “We work really hard, often training three times a week and at times more than two hours per session, but we have an enormous passion, great chemistry, and we’ve got our coach (Damien Jurie) at the core of our team.”

The Griffons are indeed the youngest team at the 2023 adult competition with an average age of just 22 years young. Fifteen of their 18 players are aged between 19 and 23 years old. Most of the players have played together for many years, they are comfortable in possession, and they work collectively well together on the pitch.

Ricciardelli said her team took some time to get going in Halifax, but they hit their stride on the second day and they are pleased with their progress after just three days. The Griffons won 2:0 over United Dartmouth FC on Wednesday, 2:0 over King City Royals on Thursday, and 1:0 over FC Northwest Winnipeg on Friday.

“The confidence is there, the passion is there, but we are also here to enjoy ourselves,” said Ricciardelli. “We’ve said that to win (the tournament) would be a plus because we have been working at it for a long time, but we won’t put that pressure on ourselves. We are here to show how we can play, to grow and to get better.”

It’s only been three days, but they have truly turned some heads with the football they have shown.

“The confidence is there and we will face anything that comes our way,” said Ricciardelli.