As the only Tier IV team from St. Paul to advance to provincials this soccer season, the U14 girls’ team went to the tournament with a little bit of confidence, and an impressive record with only two losses behind them.
After a weekend of battling it out on the soccer pitch, the girls would claim provincial bronze on July 11, following a tough defeat by the eventual gold-medal champions, Fort St. John, says St. Paul’s U14 team manager Dale Drummond.
Overall, the weekend went very well, he says. Everyone, from the coaches, to the parents, and the players, were happy with the end result.
The girls started off the tournament with a win in their first game, and then in the second game, had to go into a shootout, where they lost to Thorsby. But, because of the point system being used, the girls still managed to qualify for the semifinals.
In the semifinal game, the girls would meet up with Fort St. John, “a really tough team,” says Drummond. The girls would be relegated to the bronze medal game, and would again find themselves facing Thorsby.
But, this game would be different, and with a little vengeance, the girls would beat Thorsby by a score of 3-0.
“We should have probably beat Thorsby the first time, but we didn’t,” says Drummond. He added that the girls just couldn’t capitalize on some shots the first time around.
The provincial tournament in Edson signals the end of the season for the majority of the U14 girls. And considering the team lost only four games all season, two of those at provincials, Drummond says it was a very good season.
