All five Bonnyville soccer teams picked up a medal at the Lakeland Cup tournament in St. Paul this past weekend, with three teams, including the U12 girls Bonnyville Blitz, the U12 boys Bonnyville Jets and the U16 girls team each advancing to provincials next week.
The Blitz took home gold, needing penalty kicks to beat the Bonnyville Thunder 3-2 in the finals, sending the Blitz onto provincials in Edson July 8-10.
“Our teams are so evenly matched,” said Blitz head coach Scott Cameron. “It was a really tight game, back and forth. They hemmed us in our own end more than anyone all weekend.”
But after his goalie made the final save in penalty kicks, Cameron said his team rushed onto the field to celebrate.
According to league rules, teams can add players to their roster prior to provincials. Cameron said he will add four or five players from the Thunder, making it a “true Bonnyville team” representing the community at provincials.
“We have a really strong team,” said Cameron. “With the additions, I think we have a good shot at taking home a medal.”
The Jets will also travel to Edson, representing Bonnyville at provincials, while the U16 girls will head off to Sylvan Lake that same weekend looking for a provincial title.
U16 girls head coach Paul St. Amant was thoroughly impressed with his players' performances at the Lakeland Cup.
“They played great all weekend. They play as a team and celebrate as a team, no individuals.”
He said several of his players have been to provincials before and the experience should help bring success this season.
“We're expecting to finish in the top four. We should have some success there.”
Though not able to qualify for provincials, the Thunder and the U16 boys team still picked up hardware at the Lakeland Cup.
The Thunder took home silver, after the heartbreaking shootout loss to the Blitz, while the U16 boys took home bronze for their efforts.
Two soccer teams from Bonnyville qualified for provincials at the Lakeland Cup tournament in Vermilion June 18-19.
Both the U14 boys and the U18 boys went undefeated and took home gold at the tournament and will try to continue their success at provincials July 8-9.
The U14 boys will head to Lacombe, while the U18 team will travel to Stettler.
Mel Hofer, coach of the U14 boys, said his team is looking forward to the challenge ahead. Even after going undefeated in the regular season again, he says his team doesn't take any match lightly. The same boys team went undefeated last season as well.
“We work hard for the Lakeland Cup,” said Hofer. “Provincials is a bonus for us. But if we want to win, we have to play like it. And if we go in there and play with everything we've got, hopefully we come out of there with some wins.”
The U18 boys are “pumped” to go to provincials this year, according to their coach Scot Pergrym.
He said, “Last year we made it to provincials but got knocked out in the medal round.” And this year his team is looking for redemption.
Pergrym said his team played very well at the Lakeland Cup, but it was a tough fight to take gold. Now he hopes the team can stay on a roll into provincials.
“The boys have all come together as a team in the last few tournaments we've played. We'll try to keep it going.”
The U18 boys also took bronze at the Midnight Classic tournament in Camrose June 11-12.
The U14 and U18 girls teams from Bonnyville also competed at the Lakeland Cup in Vermilion.
The U18 girls came just short of qualifying for provincials, taking the silver medal, losing to Lac La Biche in the final.
The U14 team finished in fifth, after a three-way tie for fourth through sixth came down to goals for and against.
