Mitch Calvert
The Muskie boys’ soccer team faces an uphill battle at the all-Ontarios in Hamilton when play gets underway Thursday.
The black-and-gold go in as the eighth seed (the lowest of the ranked teams) in the 20-team field.
Slotted into Pool ‘B,’ they open action Thursday at 9:30 a.m. (all times CDT) against unranked Courtice Secondary School (LOSSA), then turn around to face E.S. Theriault (NEOAA) at 12:30 p.m.
The squad wraps up round-robin play Friday with a pair of games.
They’ll first square off against second-ranked St. Joseph’s
(WOSSAA) at 7 a.m. before taking on unranked Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton (TDCAA) at 11:30 p.m.
The top two seeds in each pool advance to the quarter-finals starting at 4 p.m.
The gold-medal final is set for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Muskie girls won’t be able to use bus legs as an excuse when they hit the pitch in Kenora on Thursday to open their OFSAA schedule.
The black-and-gold, ranked seventh of the eight ranked squads in the 16-team field, will open Pool ‘A’ action at 9 a.m. against Hamilton District Christian (SOSSA).
Their second match Thursday will pit them against Bishop Strachan (CISAA) at 1 p.m.
The Muskies will close out round-robin play Friday against top-ranked St. Joseph’s (WOSSAA) at 9 a.m., with the top two seeds from each four-team division then moving on to the quarterfinals that afternoon at 3 p.m.
The host Kenora Broncos are in Pool ‘C’ with Sir James Dunn (NOSSA), Holy Cross C.S.S. (COSSA), and Holy Trinity (GBSSA).
The gold-medal match is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
