Staff
The Muskie girls’ soccer team moved one big step closer to a third-straight NorWOSSA title, then stubbed its toe.
Fort High blanked the Kenora Broncos 5-0 and the host Dryden Eagles 4-0 last Wednesday to improve to 4-0 and lock up first place.
That means a bye to the NorWOSSA final May 25 in Dryden against the semi-final winner between the Eagles and Broncos.
Sydney Radigan, Claire Hyatt, Myla Angus, Jessica Baxter, and Erin Tomalty all scored against Kenora (1-2-1).
Moriah Carradice earned the shutout in goal.
Then against the Eagles (1-2-1), Jenny Hammond, Jenna Clendenning, Hyatt, and Ashley Croswell netted a goal apiece.
Carradice and Bryanna Dustin each played a half in net to split the shutout.
Assistant coaches Jess Caul and Sara Roach were at the helm in place of head coach Sarah Faragher, who was absent last Wednesday due to the current labour dispute between local high school teachers and the public school board.
But this past weekend in Kenora did not go as well for the Muskies, who went 1-2 to finish second in Pool ‘A’—and fourth overall—at a six-team tournament hosted by the Broncos.
Fort High lost its first two games on penalty kicks—falling 2-1 to the Portage Collegiate Institute Trojans (Portage la Prairie) and 2-1 again to the St. Thomas Aquinas Saints (Kenora).
Tomalty had the lone goal in regulation time against the Trojans, with the Muskies going 3-for-5 in the shootout on markers by Abby Sanders, Hyatt, and Annalise Hayes.
But Tomalty and Maggie Jean both missed their tries.
Hyatt then tallied in regular time against St. Thomas Aquinas, but her miss capped a 1-for-4 effort in the shootout.
Jean was the lone Muskie to make good in the shootout while Alina Eldridge and Avery Wilson-Hands had the other misses.
The Muskies pulled themselves together and finished the tournament with a 2-0 shutout of the Crocus Plains Plainsmen (Brandon).
Hammond scored in the first half, with Tomalty adding an insurance tally in the second.
Dustin and Carradice again shared the shutout as each played a half in every game.
The tournament was condensed because of the poor weather during the two days, which included rain—and even snow—at times.
With the shortened schedule, the host Broncos benefitted most greatly as their 3-0 record and plus-5 goal differential earned them the tournament title.
The Muskies also were missing several key players for the weekend due to them being away on the FFHS Travel Club’s trip to Italy.
Those same players were away for today’s regular-season finale against the Eagles and host Broncos.
