LAKELAND - Soccer is alive and well in the Lakeland.
After a very successful Tier 4 season that featured seven teams from the region moving on to rural soccer provincials in early July - and each of those teams earning medals - six Tier 3 soccer teams were then created under the Lakeland FC banner. Those teams found equal success playing at Tier 3 provincials in August.
"The 2025 Lakeland FC season was a huge success, with all six of our teams coming home with provincial medals," said Lakeland Soccer President Josh Phillips. "This year, we had six teams - our highest number in recent memory. We fielded a boys' and a girls' team at each of the U13, U15, and U17 age groups. Having an equal number of boys and girls teams is an achievement on its own."
One major change that was made to the Lakeland FC program this season was holding tryouts earlier in the season, while the Tier 4 season was still taking place.
"One of Lakeland FC’s mandates is to protect the Tier 4 programs in our district, which runs during May and June. The clubs gave us permission to run tryouts early and have the odd Sunday practice when there were no Tier 4 tournaments. The extra practices proved very beneficial," said Phillips.
Starting with tournaments in July, teams attended the Warriors Invitational Tournament in Edmonton, followed by the Red Deer July Classic, which took place on back-to-back weekends.
The Warriors tournament set the stage for a strong Tier 3 season, with the U13 boys, U13 girls, and U15 boys winning gold. The U15 girls took home silver.
The U17 boys were grouped with all Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams, but saw significant improvements throughout the weekend. The U17 girls had teams cancel the week before, leaving their weekend in question, but the hosts were able to set up games for the girls against Tier 2 and Tier 3 teams.
Heading to Red Deer just a few days later, several teams once again came home with medals, including the U13 boys and the U13 girls securing gold medals. The U15 boys won silver, and the U15 girls competed against some Tier 2 teams and ended in fourth place.
The U17 boys once again only saw Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams in the tournament, and the U17 girls also faced Tier 2 competition once again.
"Both [U17] teams had a strong showing against higher competition but ended the weekend without medals," explained Phillips.
After a couple more weeks of practice, Alberta Soccer Association Tier 3 provincials took place Aug 8 to 10.
"Provincials took place in Sherwood Park and was a phenomenal weekend for us," said Phillips. All six teams would bring home medals.
The U13 boys, U15 girls and U17 girls would come home as provincial champions, while the U15 boys grabbed silver, and the U13 girls and U17 boys both won bronze.
"The medals did not come easy, except perhaps for the U15 girls, who didn’t concede a goal all weekend," said Phillips.
The U13 boys’ gold medal game went to extra time, where they were down a player due to a red card. After a significant weather delay, the team scored with only minutes left and came away with gold.
The U17 girls had to go to penalty kicks in their semi-final, edging the other team with a 4-3 advantage. In the gold medal game, they were tied at the end of regulation and had to play extra time. In the second half of extra time, one of their players scored twice in quick succession to secure the win and the gold medal.
The U15 boys took the gold medal game to extra time but ended up losing with minutes to go and came away with a heart-breaking silver medal.
The U13 Girls lost their first game of the season in the semi-final match - by only one goal - before winning the bronze medal game 2-0
The U17 Boys played a round robin tournament and came away with bronze, finishing behind the top teams in Edmonton and Calgary.
"Lakeland is extremely proud of these players and thankful for the coaching staffs," said Phillips. "A lot of work goes into these seasons and it’s good to see positive results."
In just a few years, the Lakeland FC program has grown from two boys teams and no medals, to six teams and six provincial medals. It is "a testament to the hard work of Lakeland’s leadership," said Phillips.
"We currently have hopes to expand the program into the indoor season and have been working on plans for months," explained Phillips. However, there are challenges since the Tier 3 and Tier 4 seasons overlap for the indoor season.
