Local soccer teams brought home the hardware at the annual Slush Cup tournament.
Bonnyville’s U13 team walked away with gold, while the U17 won bronze in their respective categories during the Edmonton tournament from Thursday, Feb. 28 to Sunday, March 3.
With hundreds of teams participating, head coach for U13 Josh Phillips noted his group had some unfinished business after coming in second in 2018.
“Pretty much the same team went last year, and we finished with silver. It was nice to get gold this year,” he said.
Bonnyville’s U13 indoor soccer team walked away from gold during the Slush Cup in Edmonton from Thursday, Feb. 28 to Sunday, March 3.
After winning their first two games against Glastonbury and Callingwood/Lymburn, the U13 players were headed into the gold medal match with their eyes on the prize. They beat the Lewis Estates Hell Cats 3-2 to claim the championship.
“The (games) were all really close, pretty evenly matched, and we just happened to have the edge in all three games,” Phillips recalled.
Throughout their season, Phillips noted the players really came together.
“There’s a big variety of skill level on the team this year, and everybody improved quite a bit. We played well as a team, and kept getting better and better throughout the year.”
Phillips believes the win was a well-deserved victory and is proud of each player for giving it their all.
U17 claim bronze
Although it wasn’t the finish they were hoping for, U17 head coach Salman Arabi believes it was an exceptional way to end their season.
“It was a great experience. Everybody was happy and excited,” he recalled.
After losing their first game to Hairsine, the U17 team found redemption in their second against Callingwood to head into the bronze medal match to face Hardisty.
“We played really well... They got the ball to the other net, but they just finished weak,” detailed Arabi about the first game. “But, that’s what we did in the second game, as well as in the third game.”
The head coach was pleased to see each player improving at their games throughout the season.
Arabi believes part of their downfall was due to a lack of practice space available.
“When they don’t practice together... the first half of the game we play is just to get to know each other because we didn’t practice as much,” he explained.
Regardless of the outcome, Arabi’s proud of everything the team accomplished.
“We have really good players here, and we could go anywhere and play with the team that we have.”
