Huskie Alumni wins Saskatchewan provincial title
July 26th, 2009
Huskie Alumni qualified for the 2009 BMO National Championships today with a 4-0 win in the Saskatchewan Premier Soccer League final. Huskie Alumni is the second club to qualify for the Challenge Trophy competition which will be held in Saskatoon, SK this October. Huskie Alumni won 4-0 over ACFC Milan of Regina.
'Everyone had a hand in (our championship), everyone made an effort,' said Huskie Alumni head coach Stewart Gillott.
Huskie Alumni reached the final after finishing first in the regular season with seven wins, two draws and no losses. The team allowed just one goal all season long: Colo Colo’s Todd Fredrickson holds the distinction of scoring that lone goal. Of Huskie Alumni’s 34 goals scored, Jordan Schidlowsky scored a team-best 11 goals during the three-month season (May to July).
Schidlowsky added three more goals to his resume in the final. Nathan Reis, meanwhile, scored the opening and winning goal in the final. Goalkeeper Jeff Dobchuk posted the clean sheet.
The game was close throughout the first half. ACFC Milan had a chance to open the scoring with a shot from the penalty spot in the 24th minute, but the visitor was unable to convert. Reis then opened the scoring in the 30th minute on what Gillott called a 'fortunate goal'.
In the second half, Schidlowsky made it 2-0 in the 50th minute. Schidlowsky pushed up past the centreback and beat the opposing goalkeeper with a chip shot. After that goal, Gillott says 'it looked like the petrol was running out for ACFC Milan.'
For the final, Huskie Alumni awaited the winner of the ACFC Milan-Yorkton United semi-final match, held just one day earlier in 35-degree weather. That semi-final went 120 minutes plus penalties before ACFC Milan advanced to the Sunday final.
Schidlowsky scored in the 66th minute after he was sprung in one-on-one to make it 3-0. Schidlowsky then completed the hat trick in the 79th minute with a 'spectacular goal' in which he volleyed the ball past the opposing goalkeeper.
Gillott’s starting XI featured Dobchuk in goal, Jamie Hembroff, Cory Regal, Michael Veszi and Jeff Friesen on defence, Reis, Brendan Garrity, Mark Korthuis and Dwayne Gareau at midfield, and Schidlowsky and Paul Craig up front. Defender Shea O’Hare, midfielder Stephen Krieg and forward Jay Tomchuk came in after the half. Gillott picked Gareau as the player of the match.
Huskie Alumni is a new team in the Saskatchewan Premier Soccer League and will thus represent the province in the BMO National Championships for the first time. Much of the lineup, however, comes from the old Saskatoon Arsenal club which as recently as 2005 finished fourth in the Challenge Trophy competition. Ten players on Huskie United were on the Saskatoon Arsenal roster back in 2005.
Article courtesy of canadasoccer.com.
NATA Wins Provincial Title
September 17th, 2009
Saskatoon’s NATA qualified as the Saskatchewan representative for the BMO National Championships Jubilee Trophy with an impressive display in capturing the Sask Soccer Women’s Division 2 Provincial Championship. Over the three-day event, NATA went undefeated scoring 15 goals and allowing only 1 in their 4 matches, including a 3-0 victory over Regina’s WCP Cosmos in the Provincial Final.
NATA has also been dominant in league play in 2009, racing to a 13-3-1 record and first place in the Saskatoon Adult Soccer Inc. Women’s Division 2.
Percy Hoff, a veteran of numerous national competitions, coaches the team and says, “I have recently been asked to help NATA with their preparation and to coach them during the BMO National Championships Jubilee Trophy. It has already been a very positive experience. The players are very comitted and self directed, and every practice session is a positive experience for me. Like any other team, we will have our strengths and weaknesses. My job will be to minimize our weaknesses and play to our strengths. I have every confidence that this team will represent Saskatchewan honourably, both on and off the field.”
NATA receive the opportunity to represent Saskatchewan at the BMO National Championships Jubliee Trophy as Division 2 champions, after the Saskatchewan Premier Soccer League failed to include a women’s division in 2009 after receiving only a single registration. The Sask Soccer Division 2 Provincial Championship thus held double the prestige with the winner not only earning recognition as Provincial Champion, but also the opportunity to test themselves against the country’s finest teams at the BMO National Championships Jubilee Trophy.
Article courtesy of Dave Nutt.