Two Lakeland FC soccer teams went for the goal and brought home gold.
The tier three U13 and U15 boys both finished first during their provincial tournaments on Saturday, Aug. 10 and Sunday, Aug. 11.
The competitive groups had players from across the Lakeland, including Bonnyville, St. Paul, and Lac La Biche.
Hard fought battle ends in gold
This was the second year the U13 boys came out on top in provincials.
“It’s definitely nice to keep it going,” noted head coach Noah Teixeira. “The boys were happy to win. It was a well played tournament, and they deserved it.”
They went up against the Camrose Vikings in the finals on Sunday, Aug. 11, and won 4-0 in Fort McMurray after going undefeated over the weekend.
Their success started with a 4-0 win over the South West Sting. The boys bested the Blizzard United 3-1 before heading into the semi-finals where they beat the WHU Revolution 1-0.
After working hard to build their skills this season, Teixeira saw everyone come into their stride during the year-end tournament.
“They all did very good. We had to mix around some positions, we had a person play defence that had never played before, and he did fantastic.”
He continued, “They have a lot more ball control now, they’re more accurate with their balls on net and passing.”
The provincial win added to a very successful year for the U13 team. They went undefeated at the Calgary Cup the first weekend of August and had a strong showing at the Red Deer Classic in June.
U15 were ready for the competition
“They set the bar really high for themselves, and I had a lot of fun coaching these guys.”
U15 head coach Nicolas Lampron described their first place finish as a well deserved victory.
“I think the boys were ready for it. We worked on it since the end of June, and everyone really put their efforts together and came together really nicely in the tournament we played in.”
They also went undefeated at provincials in Medicine Hat over the weekend, defeating the South West Sting 7-1, and besting the DUFC Snipers 5-1 before taking on the Spartan Hercules in the semi-finals. They came out on top 5-0.
In their gold medal match-up against St. Albert in the provincials in Medicine Hat on Sunday, the final score was 1-0 for the Lakeland team.
Lampron described the game as “intense” due to thunderstorm warnings and the competitiveness from both sides.
“We were afraid they might have to cut the game short, so the boys were a little bit under pressure for that,” he recalled.
Although the teams were evenly matched for a majority of the game, the Lakeland FC found the back of the net, claiming gold.
“It took a long time for us to open the score. They had a very strong defence and a goalie that hadn’t conceded all weekend. In the end, I think halfway through the second half we managed to pull one goal ahead and then defended the lead for the rest of the game,” Lampron said.
This wasn’t the only instance where the U15 had a strong showing. This season, they won gold in Red Deer in July, and walked away with silver in Calgary the first weekend of August. Lampron believes “they deserved a gold medal in all three tournaments.”
