Jamie Mountain
The Rainy River Owl girls’ soccer team is firing on all cylinders ahead of today’s NorWOSSA ‘A’ playoffs in Red Lake.
The squad picked up a trio of wins last Wednesday and Thursday in Sioux Lookout to finish league play with a 4-1-1 record–good enough for second place in the standings–and sets up a semi-final showdown against the Warriors.
Owls’ head coach Rebecca Tolen was thrilled with how her squad fared this season and was looking forward to the challenge the Warriors would present today.
“We’re looking forward to going into the NorWOSSA playoffs sitting second,” she noted.
As for the games last week in Sioux Lookout, the Owls did well in both the offensive and defensive ends.
Lara Wood scored the lone goal on Wednesday to lead the squad to a 1-0 shutout over the Red Lake Rams.
Then on Thursday morning, Wood netted another two markers to lead Rainy River to a 5-0 blanking of the Rams.
Alexa Veldhuisen, Mika Kooistra, and Paige Stamler also scored in that one.
The Owls then concluded the regular season with a 2-0 win against the host Warriors, with Paige Anderson and Jasmine Holmes providing the offence.
“The girls played really well,” Tolen enthused. “There were some amazing passes that led to some great goals.”
In boys’ action, the Owls managed to earn a win, a draw, and a loss over the two days to finish league play in fourth place with a 1-4-1 record.
They, like the girls, also will battle the Warriors in a semi-final showdown today.
The Owls earned a 3-0 shutout victory against the Rams last Wednesday for their lone win of the season.
Nick Vogan scored twice in that one while Joe Tiboni also tallied.
Tiboni then had the squad’s lone marker Thursday morning as they battled the Rams to a 1-1 draw.
Rainy River then capped the regular season with a 6-1 loss to the host Warriors, with Noah Nault notching the Owls’ lone goal.
“The boys played well and really found their offence in those games,” Tolen remarked.
The NorWOSSA finals are set for tomorrow, also in Red Lake.
The champs then will advance to the NWOSSAA finals slated for May 31-June 1.
The OFSAA ‘A’ championships then are slated for June 7-9, with the girls competing in Pain Court while the boys head to Fort Erie.
