Joey Payeur
Eat, sleep, conquer, repeat.
It’s a mantra made famous by WWE Universal champion Brock Lesnar and followed to the letter by the Muskie boys’ soccer team.
Fort High once again is king of the NorWOSSA hill after blanking the Dryden Eagles 4-0 in the league final last Wednesday in Kenora.
That’s seven titles in a row for the Muskies, who now are in North Bay preparing for the OFSAA ‘AA’ boys’ tournament that gets underway tomorrow.
“Obviously, I’m extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished,” said Muskie co-coach Chris Sinclair, whose team has not allowed a goal in its past three games.
“We’ve come a long way from losing all three [games] in Winnipeg until now,” he noted.
“Having said that, our season isn’t finished yet,” Sinclair stressed.
“We still have at least four games to go and hopefully more.”
Sinclair said the final goal the team set for themselves was to win one game at OFSAA.
“I think if we can get one win under our belt early in the tournament, you never know what could happen,” he remarked.
“We are going in as a confident group,” he added.
“We are going to take things day by day and game by game, and enjoy the experience.”
Fort High didn’t waste any time getting on the board last Wednesday against Dryden–scoring just 90 seconds into the game on a goal by Aaron Bujold.
“It was a very well-executed goal, with the ball coming from the outside into Joey [Angus], who fed Aaron on a nice run through the middle,” noted Sinclair.
“We’ve stressed using the outsides and supporting the ball through the middle, and it’s nice to see the kids buying in,” he said.
“It was huge getting that early lead. I think scoring so early took any life away from them [Dryden].”
Liam Metke, the only “victory lap” player on the Muskies’ roster this season, returned from missing the team’s regular-season finale with a broken nose to deliver a punch to the Eagles’ jaw with a 25-yard free kick that rocketed off keeper Dylan Winsor’s hands in the 23rd minutes for a 2-0 lead.
“Liam plays such a huge role on the team,” lauded Sinclair.
“Not only is he an unbelievable defender, he’s an awesome leader.
“It’s very rewarding for him to score that goal after his contributions to the program over his five years,” he added.
Christian Audette then delivered the knockout blow in the last minute of the half, motoring down the left side and uncorking a blast off his left foot that Winsor couldn’t block.
“By half when we were up 3-0, it seemed like they just shut down,” said Sinclair.
Cam Lidkea added the finishing touch in the 45th minute, collecting a pass in Dryden’s 18-yard box and beating one defender with a slick move before cracking a shot past a helpless Winsor.
Muskie keeper Cole Kowalski earned the shutout.
“I think having the depth that we do allows us to have different looks and increases our chances, for sure,” said Sinclair.
“I think it takes some pressure off our top guys as we aren’t always relying on them to score those big goals.
“OFSAA is a different ball game,” he warned. “We aren’t going down expecting to score four goals a game.”
The 20-team OFSAA field finally was announced Monday, with the Muskies being ranked third in Group ‘C.’
But there is little to be ascertained from how the teams are grouped or what order they are listed in their particular pool.
“The pools were set [with which conferences would be represented in each] before the teams were even announced, so I don’t think they mean anything,” Sinclair reasoned.
Fort High is going into the all-Ontarios with more of a defence-first look this season, having scored just 18 goals in its seven NorWOSSA games compared to 38 a year ago.
But that high-octane offence then sputtered in Kingsville, going 0-4 and scoring just one goal the whole tournament after the Muskies had recorded two wins at OFSAA for the first time ever in 2015.
The black-and-gold kicks off play tomorrow against the second-seeded King’s Christian Cavaliers (Oakville) at 9:30 a.m. (all times CDT), then faces the fourth-ranked St. David Celtics (Waterloo) at 2 p.m.
On Friday, the Muskies square off against the top-ranked Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Royals (Toronto) at 10 a.m.
Then they wrap up pool play against the fifth-ranked Holy Cross Raiders (St. Catharines) at 1 p.m.
Ironically, it was Holy Cross that ended the dreams of a provincial championship repeat for Sinclair (as assistant coach) and players Chase McGuire, James Gushulak, and Austin Armstrong by beating the Muskies 2-0 in the team’s final preliminary-round game at the OFSAA ‘A/AA’ boys’ hockey tournament here back in March.
That loss wound up eliminating the Muskies from playoff contention–a fact not forgotten by Sinclair and that trio.
“When I got a chance to look at our pool this morning [Monday], that was one thing I noticed,” Sinclair said.
“I mean, obviously, it’s a different sport and it’s not going to be the same kids,” he conceded.
“But for the guys on my team who were on the hockey team, as well, it could be a nice way to even the score.
“I’m sure our boys will be fired up for that one,” he noted.
The top two teams in each pool advance to the cross-over quarter-finals, which will take place Friday at 5:45 p.m.
The semi-finals are slated for Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
The bronze-medal game then goes at 1 p.m., followed by the gold-medal final at 3 p.m.
