Lakeland soccer teams played in the last local tournament of the summer over the weekend as St. Paul hosted the Lakeland Cup for the U16 and U12 soccer teams.
Action started on Saturday as teams from the Lakeland gathered in St. Paul all hoping to extend soccer seasons to include a provincial competition, which the winning teams would have the opportunity to do.
In the U16 boys category Vegreville captured the gold metal, while Lac La Biche came in second and Bonnyville rounded out the field with a third place finish. Bonnyville also placed first in the girls U16 competition and St. Paul girls fourth.
Teams in the U12 category were also in action over the weekend and the St. Paul boys team fought hard until the very end when the final game was tied and came down to a penalty kick.
The boys ended up in sixth place overall in the tournament. Coach Jim Laidley said he was happy with the performance and the boys had a good time.
In the U12 girls division, St. Paul had two teams in action in the closely matched category. The St. Paul 1 team ended up in third place in the competition, collecting a bronze medal. Coach Amy Thomson said she is very proud of her girls.
“The girls played very well,” said Thomson. “It was a very close bronze medal game and we won in a shoot out. The top four teams were very close and it could have been anyone’s gold medal.”
The top two spots in the U12 girls competition went to the teams from Bonnyville. The St. Paul 2 team ended up in fifth place overall after winning its final game against Viking.
The U18 teams also took part in their last competitions of the soccer season this past weekend in Vermilion. The Lakeland Cup for the U18s took place June 17-18.
The U18 boys team ended up with a fourth place finish at the event to end the season for the year. Coach Martin Dion was happy with the performance in a tight division.
“In our second game we had a slow first half, then we dominated the second half but did not bury out chances and ended up losing 1-0 in the final minute of play,” Dion said.
“We also lost to Bonnyville 1-0 and they went on to win the gold medal game, but we put up a good fight and I’m really proud of my guys.
“Overall, we had a great year,” said Dion.
Results for U18 girls and U16 boys were unavailable by press time.
