A perfect season on the pitch is almost complete for the defending champions.
The Holy Trinity Academy Knights advanced to the Foothills Athletic Council senior girls soccer championship game with authority in blanking the Strathmore Spartans 12-0 on Thursday while the Foothills Falcons took a narrow 2-0 loss to Canmore to move into the bronze medal match.
“The girls have just been amazing,” said Knights coach Peter Mundy. “They have continued their developments through the league games, as individuals and as a team. They have been strong in supporting each other on the field and have grown in confidence.”
Genevieve Jeeva led the way with four goals, Tristan Tate notched the hat-trick, Brielle Masse tallied the brace while MacKenna Dyck, Lauren Sinclair and Paula Josefiak also found the back of the net.
The Knights finished the regular season in top spot with a 5-0 mark and including playoffs allowed just two goals against.
“There are a number of natural goal scorers in the team,” the coach added. “But we have also only let in two goals in six games. We have been effective in all areas of play and hopefully we can take that into the final.”
The Knights walk into the final a wounded bunch.
Key players in Lucy Mundy, Abbie Wade, Emma Smith and Emily Vervoort will miss the match due to injury.
“There are no excuses though,” Mundy said. “The team has strength in depth and we are ready to compete. If the girls play like they have been, we are confident in winning the game. Anything can happen in a final though.”
The gold medal game is a rematch of last year’s final in which the Knights took it by a 3-0 score.
They’ve kept up their winning ways in 2017 as HTA edged Canmore in both regular season meetings.
The bronze medal game sees the Falcons and Spartans lock horns. Both games took place on Oct. 17 after the Western Wheel’s press time.
Both the Knights and Falcons move out of league play and into the South Central Zone championship, held Oct. 20-21 in Springbank.
“Of course we want to win the gold medal play-off game,” Mundy said. “But the ultimate goal for this season is to do well in the zones tournament.”
The Okotoks schools are pooled in Group A alongside the Cochrane Cobras while Canmore, the Bow Valley Bobcats and host Springbank Phoenix populate Group B.
Check out westernwheel.com for a story on the FAC final and zone tournament.
