After a weekend of varying weather and tough competition, two St. Paul soccer teams came out on top at Lakeland Cup, and will now be preparing for provincials.
The St. Paul Lions Soccer Fields played host to this year’s Lakeland Cup for the U12 and U16 boys and girls teams, with teams from across the area competing in a round robin style tournament over the weekend.
St. Paul’s soccer teams came into the weekend excited to play on their home fields against rivals from the area. Teams from Vermilion, Vegreville, Lac La Biche, Bonnyville, and Cold Lake all brought players for each category, some categories having multiple teams from each town included.
St. Paul’s U12 girls and U16 boys both came out with gold medal victories on the weekend, while the rest of the teams put on strong showings. The U16 boys finished the round robin tournament with a 4-0 undefeated record, an impressive performance in a very competitive level of soccer.
The U16 boys had previously only lost one game this season, which was against Vermilion.
“I think they did what they had to do to get the job done, there were some emotional games against Vermilion, but we managed to come out on top,” said Coach Stephanie Tremblay. It was a full team effort, as their goaltender Brett Albert put in a solid performance, and their offense was on fire as nine players scored goals in their four games.
The team also achieved an impressive goal differential of 19 for and five against.
“We had a very consistent team, the core of this team have been playing together for a few years, so we had some good chemistry,” said Tremblay.
A professional coach from England has been brought in by St. Paul Soccer to work with some of the teams this year, and he has helped “sharpen their systems” while working with the team, according to Tremblay.
The boys’ team will now compete at provincials in Camrose where Tremblay is confident the boys can grab a medal position if they keep playing with the same level they’ve shown all year.
The U12 Girls started the weekend on a cold and rainy Saturday, where they played Cold Lake #2 and came out with a 5-0 win. Later that day, they matched up against Vermilion, which saw a competitive game that ended up with at a 1-1 draw.
The rain and strong winds were very challenging playing conditions for our girls, according to coach Stephani Ference-Whitford. Since the girls finished second in the round robin, the team went on to play Vermillion #2 on Sunday, winning 6-4.
With that win, they were off to the gold medal match against Lac La Biche. After a hard fought battle, the girls ended up winning against Lac la Biche in the Sunday afternoon final, 1-0. Sunday offered the girls completely opposite weather conditions, as it was very hot and humid.
“The girls had a very successful 2016 season, winning a total of three gold medals to date. They started their streak by earning the gold medal at the Camrose Night Classic held the first weekend in June,” said Ference-Whitford. “The second gold medal was earned for finishing first in the (Lakeland District Soccer Association) league. They then finished off by winning the gold medal in Lakeland Cup this past weekend.”
Going into the weekend, the coach was confident in her team’s abilities.
“We definitely knew we had a great chance to win Lakeland Cup due to the success the girls had all season. I am very proud of the team, it wasn't easy and it required a lot of hard work and dedication not only from the girls but their parents as well. They put in a lot of time and effort all season in order to become so successful.”
St. Paul will be hosting The U12 girls’ provincials July 8 to 10, so the girls will once again get home field advantage. The weekend will also include U12 boys’ provincials, and U14 girls’ and boys’ provincials.
The U12 boys’ team and the U16 girls’ teams both managed to grab fifth place at Lakeland Cup.
