Jason Kerr
Daily Herald
The Carlton Crusaders girls’ soccer team punched their ticket to provincials in Saskatoon with a 1-0 win over North Battleford Comprehensive on Saturday.
Head Coach Jahnaya Saufert credited her team for playing strong defence, and not getting discouraged by bad bounces.
“We had some shots on net that unfortunately hit the crossbar or just missed, but they worked well together,” Saufert said. “They’re good at talking and communicating out there.”
Casey Miller had the lone goal for the Crusaders, who generate plenty of opportunities, but failed to beat the woodwork. Miller credited her teammates for being mentally tough against a strong opponent.
“I think we did pretty good, honestly, especially considering we haven’t played this team yet,” Miller said. “We weren’t expecting them to be this rough and this physical. They were a lot better than we expected, but we battled through.”
The win over North Battleford in the Regional Semi-Final was enough to send Carlton to provincials this weekend. They played St. Mary in the Regional Final for seeding purposes on Saturday, where the Marauders prevailed 5-0.
As one of the few Grade 12 players on the roster, Miller said she’s happy to have another crack at provincials.
“I’m very glad we made it there and can play one last time and try to battle and win,” she said.
Saufert said the Crusaders are loaded with Grade 9 players, but they’ve shown plenty of growth in a short amount of time. She said strong leadership and good communication have helped the team gel so far this year.
“They all seem to get along, so that’s always a bonus,” she said.
Striker Avery Saufert is one of those Grade 9 players. She’s looking forward to her first crack at provincials.
“I’m pretty excited,” she said. “It’s my first year here, so very excited to be going with this team and playing together more this season.”
Like Miller, Saufert said Saturday’s semi-final was a physical affair, but one the Crusaders can learn from heading into provincials.
“They were very physical and we weren’t really ready for that,” she said. “We’ve never had a team like that yet, so we weren’t expecting all the pushes. We fought back very nicely.”
The Crusaders first opponent at provincials wasn’t listed on the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association website as of press time. Their first game is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Friday at the Saskatoon Sports Centre.
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
