The Bonnyville Soccer Association (BSA) officially kicked off its summer program last weekend as it hosted the first tournament of the year at Wetland Fields, which included several teams from neighbouring communities.
The tournament was split off into separate male and female pools, with Bonnyville teams emerging victorious on both sides. The boys' pool saw Bonnyville squeeze past the Cold Lake Spartans in the gold medal game by a score of 3-2, with a last minute own goal from the Spartans goalkeeper sparing Bonnyville's blushes after the team let a two goal lead slip away earlier in the game.
Bonnvyille coach Tyson Watters was clearly delighted with the way his team played throughout the tournament and said he was pleased to have won the gold medal.
On the girls' side, the Bonnyville team coached by Mike Pomerleau secured gold after winning both of its round-robin match-ups before narrowly defeating the Cold Lake Ompalompas by a score of 2-1 in the final. Pomerleau said his girls gave it their all throughout the tournament and that he was pleased to see their hard work pay off.
Despite the wet weather, the tournament was well attended, as friends, family and interested viewers braved the conditions to fill the space on the sidelines for each game. Director of tournaments for the BSA, Jeff Ryll said he considered the weekend to have been a huge success.
“I think this tournament was a lot of fun (for the kids and the fans), there was a lot of good soccer on show,” Ryll said. “We've always had quite a bit of success with our Bonnyville teams in the local tournaments, so it was really nice to see that trend continue.”
He went on to thank all the volunteers and teams that came together to make the tournament a successful one.
With the season now well underway, Bonnyville can look forward to a flurry of tournaments across a number of age groups over the coming weeks. Next weekend will see U6, U8 and U10 teams from all over northeastern Alberta come out for the Mini Wetlands Tournament, with Ryll saying the public can expect another fantastic weekend of entertaining soccer.
For more information on the Bonnyville Soccer Association visit www.bonnyvillesoccer.org
