Submitted Article
The Yorkton United Girls Under 18/16 team competed in the Division 1 Under 18 Provincial Soccer Championships in Saskatoon on March 7-9. This is the first time competing in the Division 1 Provincial Championships for this squad after winning four straight Division 2 Provincial Champion-ships.
The first game of the round robin was against the number one ranked Regina QCT squad. This game was a back and forth affair that saw Kendra Varjassy open the scoring of the game. QCT quickly responded and tied the game up at 1-1. Rita Fetsch scored back to back goals to give Yorkton a 3-1 half time lead. The second half belonged to QCT as they scored 4 straight goals to take a 5-3 lead. Rita Fetsch added her third goal of the game late to make the final score 5-4 for QCT.
The second game of the round robin saw Yorkton taking on Saskatoon Aurora. Once again Yorkton opened the scoring with Allison Berge finding the twine. Lauren Maier, Kendra Varjassy and Rita Fetsch with three goals extend the lead to 6 -0 , with the final score ending up 6-1 for Yorkton.
The next game was against Saskatoon Eastside. This game saw the goal tending debut of Caleigh Grunert as starting goal tender Kristen Jonassen suffered an injury in games one and two which would prevent her from being able to play keeper. This game started out much like the previous games with Yorkton opening the scoring on a goal by Rita Fetsch. Fetsch would go on to add three more goals with Kristen Jonassen adding a single marker for a final score of 5-1 for Yorkton.
The fourth and final round robin game against Regina Unidad would determine if Yorkton would qualify for the final. This game started out quickly once again for Yorkton with Kendra Varjassy scoring 2 quick goals to start the game. Rita Fesch would add 3 more goals with Allison Berge chipping in with a single.
Combined with the continued stingy defense and goal tending from the Yorkton defenders Yorkton would go on to win this game 6-1 and find themselves in a rematch with Regina QCT for the Provincial Championship.
The final would see the top two teams square off against each other in a rematch of the first round robin game. This time Regina QCT was able to get off to a quick start with two goals before Rita Fetsch was able to cut the lead in half just before half time. The second half started out much like the first half with QCT scoring two quick goals to take a commanding 4-1 lead. Rita Fetsch added a second goal on a penalty kick late in the second half to make the final score 4-2 for Regina QCT.
Winning the silver medal in Division 1 for this Yorkton club is a great achievement for each and every player, and was the culmination of the many hours of training and practice put in by the players and coaches.
