Hapnot Collegiate will have not one, but two new soccer banners to hang in the school gym. Both the Kings and Kweens earned glory on their home field at last week’s Zone 11 championship, winning top spot without giving up a single goal.
Both teams went undefeated through pool play and won their gold medal matchups Sept. 29, clinching their tickets to provincials in Dauphin later this month.
On the girls’ side, the Kweens came in with a title to defend, having won last year’s zone championship in emphatic fashion, scoring 29 goals in just three games en route to both a zone banner and a third-place finish at provincials. This year’s team is missing several key players from last season, but the Kweens still made their mark in the four games they played this year.
The Kweens opened things off Sept. 28 with a 3-0 win against Margaret Barbour Collegiate (MBCI), then added a second win in the evening against Cross Lake Mikisew, winning 6-0. A third win the next morning, beating Norway House’s Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre (HBOIERC) 6-0, clinched top spot in their pool and a berth in the finals.
Those finals would pit the Kweens up against the other pool’s top team, the Frontier Mosakahiken Grizzlies from Moose Lake. The Grizzlies eked out wins against Thompson’s R.D. Parker Trojans and the Oscar Lathlin Wolverines from Opaskwayak Cree Nation to earn their spot in the finals.
The Kweens had kept a clean sheet throughout zones and continued that in the final, scoring an early goal on the Grizzlies and adding in two more later to pick up a 3-0 victory, earning the banner.
Boys
The Kings had a point to prove in this year’s zones, having lost last year to Frontier Mosakahiken in a hard-fought final game. If Hapnot was going to avenge that defeat, they would have to finish first in their four-team pool, then face the Grizzlies in the final if they qualified.
Hapnot did their part, going 3-0 through pool play, beating HBOIERC 12-0, Cranberry Portage’s Frontier Collegiate Raiders 4-0 and Cross Lake Mikisew 7-0 to earn a final berth. The Grizzlies followed suit, beating Oscar Lathlin and R.D. Parker to set up a revenge game in the final.
In that game, both teams played physical, tough soccer - no love from last year was lost. Hapnot got out to a lead midway through the first half thanks to Ashton Church, who snared a ball that bounced off a Moose Lake defender and buried it, making it 1-0 Hapnot.
The Grizzlies would press on, mounting offensive pressure throughout the rest of the half, but goalie Shea McCullum stood tall in the net, keeping the ball out despite a long line of corner kicks and crosses.
Hapnot’s Kenny MacDonald and Walter Stenbeck both had their chances to extend the lead, but the Grizzlies were up to the task, often immediately counterpressing. The Kings’ defence was able to stave them off though, despite physical play and a few one-on-one skirmishes that had to be broken up by teammates or the referee.
Late in the game, the Grizzlies lost focus, with a pair of yellow cards issued after hard challenges that missed the ball. More shots were lobbed at McCullum, but he stayed on guard, keeping his net clean to the last.
By the time the final whistle blew, the Kings were put through the ringer, but they would walk away with a 1-0 win. A dejected Grizzlies team headed onto the bus back home, while the Kings raised their banner high.
Both Hapnot teams will represent the north at provincials Oct. 13-14, hosted by Dauphin Regional Comprehensive Secondary School (DRCSS) at the Vermillion Park Sportsplex.
