Lucas Punkari
It wasn’t the two wins they were hoping for but the Muskies boys’ soccer team is off to a solid start after a win and a tie in their NorWOSSA openers here last Wednesday.
The black-and-gold kicked things off with a 3-1 victory over the Kenora Broncos in the morning before battling the Dryden Eagles to a 1-1 draw that afternoon.
“We did a lot of things right today,” Muskie head coach Shane Beckett said afterwards.
“Against Dryden we worked really hard for the ball, and our work rate was just awesome, but we just couldn’t bury our chances,” he noted.
“We had a lot of opportunities to score, but we just didn’t take advantage and Dryden was able to equalize.”
The Muskies jumped out to a first-half lead when Anniss Seid raced in to collect the loose ball that Eagles’ keeper Carney McConnachie was unable to handle and slid the ball into the gaping net.
“Anniss’ speed is just frightening,” Beckett remarked.
“He’s absolutely relentless out there, and if I was playing fullback against him, I’d be absolutely petrified,” he stressed.
Despite numerous chances to extend their lead, Fort High was unable to find the back of the net again. And when Cody Kaus tucked the ball home during the second half, it was all the scoring Dryden needed to force the draw.
“It’s always going to be a good game when you go against those guys because Fort is always well-coached and they are always well-organized,” Eagles’ coach Conor Doherty lauded.
“Whoever gets those bounces will usually end up winning the game, and today neither of us really had that extra bounce to get a victory,” added Doherty, whose team beat Kenora 3-1 earlier in the day.
The black-and-gold also downed the Broncos by that same 3-1 score, with Seid, Justin Anderson, and Brandon McGinnis all finding the back of the net.
“It was really windy out for that game, and the wind always comes into play out here,” Beckett noted.
“When we had the wind at our backs, we were able to play the ball a little bit longer and really push the play on Kenora,” he explained.
“And when the wind was in our faces, we kept the ball on the ground and really controlled the play.”
Despite dropping their first two games of the NorWOSSA season, Broncos’ head coach Greg Fair still was pleased with how his team performed, especially heading into the league games the Broncos were hosting today, along with their home tournament this weekend.
“I think our guys played very well despite what the score indicated,” Fair said.
“There were some mistakes that led to us giving up goals, but our games were still very even and I think that’s a sign that the league should be very good once again this year,” he added.
After taking on both the Broncos and Eagles in Kenora today, the Muskies will make the trek back up Highway 71 this weekend to take part in the Beaver Brae Invitational tournament, where they will be facing Miles Mac (Winnipeg) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Kenora) on Saturday afternoon.
“It’ll be nice to go up and have those games in Kenora,” Beckett said.
“They have a beautiful facility up there, and it’s sheltered from the wind, so the weather doesn’t become a factor in the matches there,” he noted.
The black-and-gold will also welcome a couple of bodies back into their lineup this week, with Tim Metke and Jameson Shortreed both expected to return to the pitch.
“Tim’s been battling some ankle problems lately, and while he was able to play in the first game against Kenora [last Wednesday], it was just to much for him to go back out there for the second game,” Beckett said.
“But he should be good to go this week.
“Jameson was in Boston for a hockey camp, and while he’ll be back for [today’s] games, I’m pretty sure that he won’t be in the starting lineup,” Beckett added.
