Lucas Punkari
While a pair of pre-season triumphs over the Rainy River Owls here last Thursday were just what the Muskie boys’ and girls’ soccer teams were hoping for in their first actual game action of the 2011 season, both sides still have a long way to go before they’re fully ready for the upcoming campaign.
With that in mind, the Muskie boys will be making the trek to Winnipeg this weekend for the annual St. John’s-Ravenscourt tournament, which Fort High has competed in nearly every year since its inception in 1984.
“It’s a great tournament for us to see teams that are better than us and that are also at our level,” noted head coach Shane Beckett.
“And it also allows us to see what we need to get to that top level provincially.
“It’s also a great team-building experience for us, and it’s really where season starts for us both on and off the field,” he added.
The black-and-gold are in Group ‘B’ for the tournament, meaning they’ll take on St. Paul’s (Winnipeg) on Friday at 5 p.m. before meeting Miles Macdonell (Winnipeg) at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
“St. Paul’s is an all-boys Catholic private school that is a sports powerhouse, but they had a little bit weaker program last year and we ended up beating them in the consolation finals,” Beckett recalled.
“We also played Miles Mac last year, and they’re just a beautiful team to watch,” he added.
“We were able to play right with them during the game, but they were able to score on us early on and later in the game.”
Last Thursday’s exhibition opener against Rainy River proved to be a one-sided affair in favour of the Muskies as Justin Anderson, David Chambers, Colton Spicer, Anniss Seid, and Brandon McGinnis all found the back of the net in the 5-0 victory.
Anderson’s goal, which put Fort High up by two near the end of the first half, arguably was the nicest goal of the bunch as he put home a looping strike from just outside the 18-yard box.
“He played with us for the first time last summer in the [adult] league, and I begged him to come out and try out this year for the Muskies,” Beckett noted.
“And the guys really worked on him to come out.
“It’s a really gutsy move for a Grade 12 plus like Justin is to try and make it as a rookie,” Beckett continued.
“But we know that he is a really good athlete and he’s going to be fighting with everyone else for top playing time.”
With the exhibition win in the record books, and this weekend’s tournament in Winnipeg on the docket, Beckett feels his team will be ready to go when the NorWOSSA season gets underway here next Wednesday (May 4) against a still-to-be determined opponent.
“We’ve been limited a little bit to working on our systems thus far, mainly because with the weather we had, we were forced to practice inside,” Beckett said.
“[We] just focused on our individual and partner type play.
“I think our strength right now is that we have a lot of speed on the outside, and I think we’re also starting to get some things figured out in the middle in regards to our ball movement,” he reasoned.
Girls win
Meanwhile, the Muskie girls also opened their season on a winning note last Thursday afternoon by downing Rainy River 4-1.
Maryam Seid, Sara Roach, and Courtney Roach tickled the twine for the black-and-gold while the fourth goal came after an Owls’ player put the ball into her own net.
“Sara actually had to leave the game partway through the first half for a job interview, and then she came right back out onto the field during the second half and scored a goal,” head coach Sarah Noonan noted.
“She’s always a force out there, and she’s someone who has a lot of leadership in the centre part of the field,” Noonan added.
“You can always tell when she’s out there.”
With no games scheduled this week, the Muskie girls will be utilizing practice time to prepare for their NorWOSSA opener here next Wednesday (their opponent also remained unknown as of press time).
“I think the main thing that we want to do is just focus on our system and just get the girls comfortable with that,” Noonan said.
“Our first touch and our passing are also not quite where we want them to be just yet.
“But I think once we get our system set, we’ll start to focus a little more on the fundamentals and the rest will just come together,” she reasoned.
