The Sacred Heart Saints girls soccer team performed remarkably well in Moose Jaw on the weekend at a 16-team tournament that featured some of the top 2A and 3A teams in the province, said coach Jeanne Fetsch.
The Saints are in the smaller category (2A) and have not lost to a 2A school yet this season. They played five games on the weekend and ended up being champions of the 'B' side consolation, says Fetsch.
The team was put in a pool against Moose Jaw Peacock, Lloydminster Holy Rosary and Swift Current.
"If they won this pool, they advanced to the 'A' side playoffs. If they finished second, they moved to the 'B' side. The Saints came ever so close to winning the pool but were one goal shy of advancing to the 'A' side," she noted.
Game 1 was against Moose Jaw Peacock and the Saints won 6-0. Rita Fetsch notched four goals.
Kaylee Ford and Emily Kruger added singles. Raquel Hackman recorded the shutout.
Game 2 against Lloydminster saw the Saints win 3-0 (another shutout by Hackman). Fetsch added two more goals and Allison Kruger scored her first to round out the scoring.
In Game 3 against Swift Current, the Saints needed to tie or win to advance. They took a one-goal lead on a goal from Hailey Richards set up beautifully by Leta Perepeluk.
Swift Current came back to tie the game shortly after. With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, Swift Current took the lead on a goal scored off a corner kick. The Saints tried hard to tie but just came up short of a 2-1 score.
These results moved the Saints into the 'B' side with Prince Albert (PA) Carlton, Regina Campbell, and Moose Jaw Vanier.
"The Saints played an excellent game against PA Carlton," said coach Fetsch.
"PA had dominated a week earlier at the PA St. Mary tournament but this game was a different story," she explained.
PA took the lead but the Saints tied it on a goal by Fetsch, set up by Richards. The game ended in a tie but because a winner needed to be determined they had to have a shoot-out.
SHHS lost the shoot out to drop to the 'B' side consolation. In the 'B' side consolation final, the Saints dominated from start to finish and defeated Moose Jaw Vanier 6-0. Fetsch scored all six goals in this game.
Kaitlin Inglis had an outstanding tournament in her central defence position and was key in allowing only three goals in five games.
Coach Fetsch said a number of players are getting better with each passing match.
"Hackman continued her strong performance in net as she recorded three shut outs. Ford had a very strong tournament both as a forward and stepped into play very well at midfield when the Saints were short in this position."
The entire Saints team played their hearts out and performed at a very high level. They are looking forward to their home tournament this weekend. They will be working to improve defensive coverage and will continue to try to improve their transition from offence to defence.
