Both Muskie soccer teams advance to the NorWOSSA semi-finals after pool play yesterday in Kenora.
The top-seeded boys ended up finishing second in Pool ‘A’ after going 1-1—getting up 1-0 in a shootout to Dryden before thumping St. Thomas Aquinas (Kenora) 7-0.
It means the Muskies will face the Kenora Broncos in the semi-finals if the latter emerges—as expected—as the top team from Pool ‘B.’
The winner will advance to the league final later today.
Meanwhile, the Muskie girls maintained their perfect record in league play after easy wins over (10-0) and Red Lake (8-0) yesterday.
As the top team in Pool ‘A,’ they’ll meet the second-place team from Pool ‘B’ (either St. Thomas Aquinas or Sioux Lookout) in today’s semi-finals. If they win, they’ll advance to the NorWOSSA final later today.
“We were set on giving our starters a rest in both games,” said Muskie head coach Struchan Gilson, whose team is looking for its fifth-straight NorWOSSA title.
“[But] we’ll get serious when the games really count.”
Christin Thomson, Amanda Allan, Sarah Barton, and Kate Basaraba each scored twice against the Eagles, with Nicole Rogozinski and Lindsay Roy adding singles.
Shannon Koval and Miranda Miller each tallied twice versus Red Lake, with Rogozinski, Barton, Thomson, and Rebecca Cornell also scoring.
Meanwhile, Muskie boys’ co-coach Ben Andrusco said his team was upset after the Dryden loss.
“Dryden has been our nemesis the last couple of years. They just played great defence against us,” he noted. “In penalty kicks, anything can happen.”
But after that disappointing setback to open play, the boys rebounded. Jeremy Wilson, Chris Plett, and Tanner Kaemingh scored two goals each while Simeon Nussbaumer added one in their win over the Saints.
