Lucas Punkari
The Muskie boys’ soccer team began their quest for all-Ontario glory on a losing note this morning, falling 2-1 to the fifth-ranked St. Paul Wolverines (Mississauga) in their Pool ‘C’ opener.
“It was a tremendously unlucky result as we dominated the game,” Muskie head coach Shane Beckett said from Windsor.
“We had a penalty shot which was extremely debatable as to [whether] the ball had gone over the goal line or not, we hit a couple of posts, and had two really dangerous free kicks.
“But in the end we just gave it away,” he sighed.
After giving up a goal on a transition play late in the first half, Jameson Shortreed knotted things up early in the second half.
But the tie didn’t last for long as a miscue by Fort High caused them to lose the lead a few minutes later.
“We made an errant throw-in and they [St. Paul] were able to get the ball in the final third of the field,” Beckett explained.
“All they had to do was make a couple of touches, and they were able to score and retake the lead.”
The black-and-gold didn’t have long to dwell on their opening setback. They were back on the pitch this afternoon at 3 p.m. (EDT) against the host Kennedy Clippers.
The outcome wasn’t known as of press time.
“They are the defending champions so we know that they are going to be a really strong team,” Beckett noted.
“But I think the guys should really come out hungry after our loss this morning since we know that we can play with the top-ranked teams here,” he reasoned.
The Muskies will meet the third-ranked St. Joseph’s Rams (St. Thomas) tomorrow at 11 a.m., then wrap up round-robin play at 2 p.m. versus Theriault (Timmins).
The top two teams from each of the four pools will advance to the quarter-finals tomorrow at 5:15 p.m.
The playoff round will conclude Saturday, with the final slated for 2 p.m.
