The Estevan Comprehensive School Elecs girls’ soccer team fell 7-0 to the Yorkton Raiders at the Regional Championships on Oct. 23 in Yorkton.
Stacy Murphy, coach of the Elecs, said the team started slow in the game and didn’t play as well as they’ve shown they can this season. She said a win against Yorkton would have propelled the team to provincials, but the girls appeared to be nervous knowing what was at stake.
“That played a little bit of a role,” said Murphy, noting a referee’s call to stop the game early also contributed to the final score. “They weren’t communicating as well as they have been in the past. Then the second half we played much better than the first half. We got the ball down into their end a few times.”
Despite the result, Murphy said the team can be proud of their development since the soccer season began in early September. She said three quarters of the girls on the team hadn’t played the game competitively since they were young kids, so having them come out and acquire knowledge and brush up on their soccer skills was nice to see.
“There was marked improvement from the very first game that they played to the second,” she said. “They definitely improved along the way.”
The core group of younger players on the team coming back to the pitch will help the club improve their results next season, noted Murphy. A stint playing in the summer women’s league also wouldn’t hurt.
“If those core ones who came out this year come out next year, then that will help,” she said. “We’ll definitely be able to build upon that.”
