The St. Mary Marauders boys soccer team is headed into provincials on a high note after a 9-0 win over North Battleford at the regional tournament held in Prince Albert on Friday.
The visitors kept the game close for one half before the Marauders offence exploded in the second for a comfortable win.
“I thought we were good with moving the ball around—moving and finding the right space and finishing,” said Grade 12 midfielder Giorgio Artunduhea, who was one of eight St. Mary goal scorers. “We really got a lot of goals into the net, and I’m proud of my teammates.”
St. Mary entered the regional final following a 5-0 win over Martensville in the semis earlier in the day. Despite the scorelines, Marauder coach Brenner Holash said Martensville and North Battleford gave St. Mary two tough games.
“Typically it’s been a two-team race in the North Central region between St. Mary and Carlton,” Holash said. “We’ve had some tough battles over the years, so it’s great to see Martensville and North Battleford enter the fray and compete.
“There’s a lot of skilled players and they have quality coaches and great facilities, so we’re excited for our region to keep growing and the competition to keep heating up.”
St. Mary was already guaranteed a spot in next weekend’s provincial tournament regardless of whether or not they won the regional final. Artunduhea said it’s good to go into that tournament on a winning streak.
“I think we’re very confident,” he said. “We’ve won basically every game so far, and we look forward to it with this young squad.”
“It (provincials) hasn’t been here for a while so we’re pretty excited,” fellow Grade 12 midfielder Andrew Markos added. “Hopefully we can win and keep (the title) in the city.”
St. Mary sends a young squad to provincials, with only a few Grade 12 players on the roster. However, Markos said that youthful energy has been a positive.
“(It’s) a lot of young players that just put the work in, a lot of juniors, so it’s good for us,” he said.
Holash said the club showed plenty of promise in the lead-up to provincials. He said the squad has a lot of depth, and a lot of motivation.
“There’s a lot of skill on this team,” he said. “We’re a very, very deep team and we’ve got high spirits. Everybody supports each other and we have a good time, but they also work hard and can focus when they need to. We’re really excited about our depth and just the character of the guys we have as well.”
St. Mary and North Battleford will both represent the North Central Regional at provincials the Oct. 24-25 weekend. The schedule will be finalized after teams from other areas finish their regional competitions.
