Medicine Hat News
With many teams playing in higher divisions than normal, there wasn't much medal hope for the Medicine Hat Crusaders at an indoor soccer tournament in Saskatoon.
Two of them got podium finishes anyhow.
The under-12 Crusaders boys took silver thanks to an offensive surge in division two. Wins of 9-1 against the Saskatoon Predators and 8-0 against the Prince Albert Celtics effectively had Medicine Hat in the gold medal final before their last round robin game.
They lost 6-3 to the Humboldt Hurricanes and matched up with the same team in the championship game Monday. Kaison Hauber, who also split goaltending duties with Austen Heringer, scored the opening goal for the Crusaders and Dante Gentile had another, but Humboldt won 3-2.
Regardless it was still a strong finish for a team that coach Joey Gentile said had trouble scoring goals earlier this season. 22 in four games was a good sign with provincials less than a month away.
The under-18 boys came within a goal of equaling the under-12's second place finish, going 1-1-1 in division two. They fell 7-2 to Humboldt's Hurricanes but rebounded with a 2-1 win over Saskatoon Arsenix. That left them needing a win over Saskatoon Smittys to take silver, but could only manage a 2-2 tie. They landed in third place in the four-team round robin instead.
As for other teams in Saskatoon, wins were few but plenty played in premier divisions, a higher level of play than they're used to.
The under-12 girls lost 2-0 to Saskatoon Boom, 1-0 to Prince Albert's Celtics and 5-0 to the Aurora Rangers. They were one of the teams trying premier play.
The under-14 girls also went 0-3 in premier, with no scores reported. They had medaled at all of their previous tournament draws prior to this one at a lower division.
In under-14 boys play, the Crusaders had a couple close matches in division two but couldn't get a W. They fell 4-1 to Edmonton Scottish United, 1-0 to Saskatoon's Titans and 2-0 to Prince Albert Celtic.
The under-18 girls had only three substitutes available and also include under-16 players on their roster, but managed a 7-3 win over the Humboldt Hurricanes in addition to losses of 4-2 (to the NSD Angels) and 2-1 (to the Prince Albert Celtics).
Coach Paul Vasquez wrote that "the players were able to stay positive and did not accept defeat until the final whistle."
Provincials for all indoor teams will take place in March.