Having conquered everything in their path so far this season, the Lakeland Dynamo U14 boys headed to Airdrie Aug. 17 and came out on top, solidifying their position as the top Tier 3 team in the province.
With two gold medals already in the bag, the team was faced with one final challenge: capturing gold at the U14 provincial championships.
After cruising to an 8-0 victory over South Western United Rangers and a 5-1 spanking of the Calgary Blizzard in round robin play, the Dynamo advanced to the final four, where the boys were once again matched up with the Blizzard. What was to follow wasn't pretty as the Dynamo once again dispatched of the big city club 4-0.
That led the team to the provincial championship's gold medal game against Grasslands FC. The players would have been forgiven for allowing the nerves to creep in, but they showed no such fear as they emphatically dispatched of their fellow finalists by a score of 6-1 to clinch a third and final gold medal of the season.
Lakeland's head coach Mike Pomerleau said he was absolutely delighted with the performance of his team, not only at provincials but also throughout the entire season.
“It was an absolutely unbelievable performance from the boys. This weekend it wasn't just about the fact that we won, it's the way that we won,” Pomerleau said. “We went out there and controlled every game we played, which showed in the score lines. The team displayed an incredible amount of character, commitment and quality throughout the entire year. It's a great group of kids and I'm really proud of what they achieved.”
The team lost only one game all season, and that was in a Tier 1 and Tier 2 tournament in Red Deer that they went on to claim gold in anyway, defeating the team they previously lost to on the way to glory.
Speaking at the team's practice last Tuesday in Bonnyville, forward Austin L'Hirondelle, who captained the side to victory in Aidrie said he was delighted to come away with provincial gold.
“I had lots of fun playing down in Airdrie. We've got a great group of guys here and it's a fun team to play on. Everyone likes playing, so it's always a good time,” L'Hirondelle said. “It's pretty awesome to have walked away with provincial gold, it's not something I've ever done before so it's a huge accomplishment both for myself and the team.”
Fellow forward David Dokter, who finished the tournament as the joint silver goal award winner alongside teammate Nolan Kabelsky with six goals, agreed with L'Hirondelle stating this year had been a great experience for him.
“This year has been tonnes of fun, I love playing on this team with all these guys,” Dokter said. “This is probably the happiest I've been playing soccer, this is my fourth or fifth year and to win provincials is a great accomplishment. I'm already looking forward to next year.”
When asked whether he felt this victory had put Bonnyville on the map for soccer in Alberta, Pomerleau's response was that of a man confident in the level of soccer currently being played in town.
“I think Bonnyville was already on the map,” Pomerleau said. “The Bonnyville Soccer Association is one of the best clubs in this district for sure, and I think it's one of the better clubs in terms of tier 4 in Alberta. And with this win I'd say tier 3 now too. With all the medals Bonnyville teams clinched this year both indoor and outdoor, we definitely have it going right now in this town.”
With his players already excited for the fall indoor season, Pomerleau said he feels a lot of them have really developed as players over the summer and could be confident of carrying their form over to the indoor league.
“At the start of the year there were kids that were definitely a work in progress for this team, but they got a lot of work in over the summer and improved by leaps and bounds,” Pomerleau said. “Most of these kids will be moving up to the U16 level next year and they'll have to start thinking about their future and whether or not soccer can get them somewhere. All I did this summer was take a group of kids and showed them how to play as a club team and they took it in stride right away. I really couldn't be any more proud of them.”
