4 minute read
Lakeland Cup
Lakeland Cup
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
Vegreville Thunder U15 Girls won gold medals, the U19 Girls took home silver medals and the U15 Boys earned bronze medals at the tournament that was hosted by Vegreville Minor Soccer Association (VMSA) at RJV Soccer Park from June 21 to June 23.
VMSA Registrar and Communications Director Shelley Berry, who also served as Assistant Coach for the U19 Girls said, “It was a fantastic Lakeland Cup for Vegreville Teams, and I’m super proud of them all! They will all be going to Provincials in St. Paul in July. It’s a little bittersweet for me this year as it’s my daughter Britney’s last year playing with VMSA.”
U19 Girls Head Coach Sheila Stemberger stated, “We have 16 players on our roster this year; about half are under 19 years of age and the other half are U17 players where three of the girls are playing their final season of the year in minor soccer. We had a great season with six games. For the tournament, we had a great start beating the Cold Lake team on the morning of June 22 and in the evening game they beat us to win gold.
At the beginning of the season, the girls continued to get better and we beat Vermilion Saturday morning and then lost to Cold Lake in a 4-2 game for silver medals.
The highlight of this tournament was the first game we played against Vermilion. We had a comeback win and our goalie Britney Berry was amazing in the last five minutes keeping us in a tight game and helping us win. This team has many girls with years of experience and dedication and it showed this weekend.
U15 Girls Head Coach Ashley Winstanley stated they started with 14 girls but one got injured early in the season, so they played at the Lakeland Cup with 13 people. “The tournament went well. The girls came out and gave it their all.
Some of the highlights were the games were very well-matched. They communicated more than I have seen them do for the whole season. There was a lot of passing and things we worked on throughout the season that they all did extremely well with. Both I and the assistant coach Rory Sperling were super proud of them!
The win was a result of the teamwork of all the girls. It was a team fight for that gold medal.
This has been my favorite group that I have got to work with. They just had incredible teamwork and the friendships they are building have been phenomenal! I am so happy to have the mix of U13 and U15 and to see the way they have come together has been extraordinary.”
Head Coach for Vegreville Thunder U15 Boys Alex Ramos described how their season was and how they did with this tournament, “We have 15 players signed up this year. Only 11 play at one time. It would have been nice to get a few more players as the season is quite compressed and we have lots of games in a short amount of time which includes tournaments.
Our team was 2-2 during regular season play and we had two good tournaments. The highlight of the last tournament was that we earned bronze, and that will take us to Provincials. The boys scored some amazing goals and as a team they have improved since our first game of the season. I hope that these kids get better and maybe one day represent Canada. The sky is the limit!”
