Jason Kerr
Daily Herald
The St. Mary Marauders head into the Saskatchewan high school provincial girls’ soccer tournament on a high note after winning the regional tournament in Prince Albert on Saturday.
The Marauders defeated Holy Cross out of Lloydminster 7-3 in the semis, then shutout the Carlton Crusaders 5-0 in the final. Head coach Dwayne Gareau said the team gelled quickly, and that led to their success.
“The high school soccer season is such a sprint, so I really like that we came together as a team and played with a tonne of energy,” Gareau said. “We challenged them with a high press and put forth the energy, knowing that Carlton had a little bit less of a break than us. I think that was one of the key moments there.”
Midfielder Mila Stonechild led the way with a hat trick for the Marauders. Stonechild said the team gets along really well, and that led to strong passing and communication on the pitch in the regional final.
“I feel like we just get along so well that those passes come naturally,” she said. “The communication is always there and we’re so good with each other that there’s no down moments…. It’s just positive energy all the time.”
The semi-final win meant the Marauders were headed to provincials in Saskatoon this upcoming weekend regardless of whether they won or lost.
Gareau said it’s tough to say how the club will fair since this will likely be the first time they’ve played these schools. However, he said the club had a nice mix of veterans and younger players, and good squad depth thanks to a few players from Prince Albert’s local club programs.
“That makes a big difference in a high school season,” he said. “If you have players who are playing club soccer along the way you just start a little bit further ahead. We’ve been fortunate that we do have a number of club players.
“We’ve been challenging the girls,” he added. “We’re going to go in (and) we’re going to play with a tone of energy. We’re going to press teams. We’re going to work hard, and hopefully we’re going to get a couple of opportunities to put the ball in the back of the net and hopefully make some noise.”
The Marauder players like their chances at provincials in Saskatoon, but they also expect tough competition.
“I think we just need to keep doing what we’re good at,” Grade 12 centre-back Abby Duplessis said. “We need to just focus on doing the basics, sticking to good passes, good defence, just doing what we know we can do.
“The teams might think they are better than us, but we have a pretty good team this year so I think we’ll do pretty good.”
“The other teams are going to be way more physical and way faster, so I feel like (we have to) just recognize everything,” Stonechild added. “Football IQ and all that is really important in these (tournaments).”
St. Mary’s opponent in their first provincial game hadn’t been decided by press time. Their opening game will be at 11 a.m. on Friday in Saskatoon.
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
