Local soccer players Vanessa Buck and Elsa Tokunaga joined the enemy and came home golden.

The two girls recently earned a gold medal at provincials, playing on a short-handed Edson team that were their nemesis through their season with Jasper. When the team came up short to go to the championship tournament, their coach looked to Jasper to fill in the blanks, said Tokanaga.

The girls played four games with Edson in Ponoka, winning every match. The first two matches put them into the semifinals, which they won. They faced Lac le Biche in the final, and won in a 2-1 showdown. Tokunaga said they were some of the toughest games she’s ever laced up her cleats for. 

“[They were] definitely the hardest games I’ve played,” she said. “I was sore for a week after.”

The team was without so many players that Tokunaga and Buck played without substitutes. 

Tokunaga said it was an interesting experience playing against a team they had reviled throughout the season with Jasper. 

“Throughout the entire season they were kind of our nemesis,” she said. “It was a real good experience playing on your enemy’s team.”

It turns out the girls from Edson were a fun bunch, and Tokunaga had a great time. 

“They were really easy to get along with,” she said. 

Tokunaga had lots of support from the girls on her Jasper team, and they all wanted the scoop on the Edson team. 

“Everyone was super supportive,” she said. “When they heard that we won gold, I got a few hugs.”

Being short on players is something Tokunaga and Buck are used to. Their own Jasper team often had to pull from the younger U-16 minor soccer team for players this past season. 

“The younger kids have been so helpful,” she said. “They’re willing to help out.”

Tokunaga hopes that Jasper Minor Sports has a long future. Now that she has graduated, she has ended her minor soccer career in Jasper, unless she pursues coaching. Winning the provincials – even if it wasn’t with her own team – was a great way to top off her years as a minor athlete. 

“It was a really, really nice way to finish minor soccer,” she said. “I really like Jasper Minor Sports.”

With high school behind her, Tokunaga is heading to university in Nova Scotia and hopes to play intramural soccer. 

“I definitely want soccer to continue to be part of my life.”