After the recent cold snap–including last night’s snow–this weekend’s annual NorWOSSA soccer tournament at the St. Francis Sportfields may not be the best first-look for the hometown Muskie boys and girls’ teams.
“From what I gathered last year, this tourney isn’t a good ‘feeler’ tournament,” said Muskie boys co-coach Rick Chambers.
“The field still had snow up there too. We’ll probably get a better idea after next week’s tournament,” he added.
But soccer is an all-climate sport, noted Muskie girls’ head coach Struchan Gilson.
“I don’t think weather will play that much of a factor,” he said. “We just have to ready to play.”
This is the first of two NorWOSSA qualifiers. Teams will each play four games starting tomorrow morning, and four more in Dryden in two weeks. The seven NorWOSSA teams in the boys and girls’ divisions will then be seeded for the league finals, May 17-18 in Kenora.
Both Muskie teams will open play against Rainy River and Red Lake tomorrow and against Beaver Brae (Kenora) and Dryden on Saturday.
“It’ll just be a chance to get some games under our belt,” said Gilson. “Watching the team practice has been like watching grass grow because we’ve got two identical teams.
“I’m pretty sure I want to see what they’re like in real competition,” he added.
The girls enter play as the defending NorWOSSA champions while the boys begin their first hunt for a title since 1999.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
