It wasn’t the result the Carlton girls soccer team was hoping for, losing their consolation game Saturday morning to finish in sixth place in provincials in Prince Albert, but after a year of not being able to play, both the players and coaches left with their heads held high as they finished their season.
In their first game of the tournament on Friday morning, the girls battled hard, but fell 2-1 to Swift Current, knocking them out of gold medal contention early. They rebounded, defeating Regina Campbell 4-2, sending them to the fifth place game Saturday morning.
After a hard fought game in the consolation game, Carlton lost out, dropping their last game of the year by a 3-1 score. For Crusader coaches Nicole Greif and Alicia Georgeson, the opportunity to play in provincials this season is a moment neither of them will forget anytime soon.
“We had two amazing games on Friday,” Greif said after their game on Saturday. “We saw our girls pull out all the stops, especially in our last game. Even though we didn’t get the result we wanted, our girls came out with their chins up and a smile on their faces.”
This year was special for the Crusaders, especially after the 2020 soccer season was cancelled. Both coaches said they were happy their graduating players got a chance to play one last game of high school soccer.
“The girls were so grateful to be able to play,” Georgeson said. “It was almost like it didn’t matter how we did, they were just so happy to get on the field again.”
“To have the chance to play again with the team in their senior year was special,” Greif said of her grade 12’s. “They’ve been with us since grade 9 and have been looking forward to provincials from the start. There’s ten of them graduating, which is the most we’ve ever had, and they were a close group.”
Meanwhile, it was Holy Cross from Saskatoon that ended up taking home provincial gold, as they edged another Saskatoon team, St. Joe’s, 2-1 in the final. Warman rounded out the medal winners, beating Swift Current 2-1 in the bronze medal game. On the boys side of things, it was a similar result. Holy Cross won their gold medal game 4-2 over Regina Campbell. Meanwhile, the St. Mary Marauders finished fourth place, as they fell in the bronze medal game 3-2 against Yorkton. The Carlton boys, like the girls, advanced to the consolation game, where they lost 2-0 to Saskatoon Centennial.
@kyle_kosowan•sports@paherald.sk.ca
