Mustangs win Rocky View Schools Association soccer silver
It wasn’t a win, but it was still an improvement from the regular season. For the second year in a row, the George McDougall Mustangs captured the Rocky View Sports Association’s (RVSA) silver medal in ladies soccer, Oct. 4.
The Cochrane Cobras captured its fourth straight title.
Mackenzie Grieve scored George Mac’s lone goal and while the team wasn’t able to bring home the gold medal, Head Coach Ian Cain was still pleased with how the team improved from it’s last game against the Cobras, where the Mustangs lost 9-2.
“The girls played great, so I can’t fault that,” he said. “They put everything into it today. Cochrane’s an all-around solid team. We played a couple of teams in this league that have strong players, but these guys have strong players all over the pitch and they’re really well balanced. You can shut them down in one area and they’re going to come at you in another. They deserved to win.”
After losing the gold medal to the Cobras for the second year in a row, it’s the Mustangs’ goal to come back to the finals next season and keep the rivalry between the two schools going. Between the men’s and ladies’ teams, Cochrane and George McDougall have met in the finals six times in the past eight years.
Cobras Head Coach Carolyn McLeod said the ‘Stangs are a team Cochrane looks forward to playing year after year thanks to what the competition means to the players and brings out in them.
“It’s a good rivalry because they are very competitive and more skilled compared to some of the other Rocky View schools,” she said.
“It’s refreshing. We have a couple of players you don’t see come alive until they get that kind of pressure.
“One of our strikers, Callie Morris, she doesn’t come alive until she meets her match and you see her at her best. It’s fun to watch the girls take it when we have more competition.”
For McLeod and the rest of the Cobras team, winning its fourth consecutive gold medal over its biggest rivals was a thrill.
“It’s outstanding,” said Cochrane Head Coach Carolyn McLeod.
“The girls we’ve had to work with, that’s a testament to them. Sure we lose a few every year, but the ones we gain seem to fit right in. They seem to get better and better with time, so we’re really pleased.”
Bronze Final
The Cobras weren’t the only Cochrane team to take home a medal from the RVSA soccer finals. The Bow Valley Bobcats won its second straight bronze medal, defeating the Chestermere Lakers, 4-2, the same day.
The Bobcats took control of the game early, netting three goals in the first half, but Chestermere wasn’t done, as it came within one goal of tying Bow Valley, but the Bobcats added a late fourth goal to put the game out of reach and secure fourth place.
“It was good,” said Bow Valley Head Coach Rob Makkreel. “It was a bit sloppy to start the second half and a couple of (Chestermere) goals went in, but we were in control, so it was all good.”
Despite Chestermere fighting back to 3-2, the Bow Valley defence and offence worked to keep the Lakers at bay.
“It was a matter of controlling the middle,” said Makkreel. “Once we had that controlled again, it was good. They had one or two strikers that were really good, but we marked them and they became negated. It was all right.”
The Bobcats’ medal was its second bronze in two years and its second medal in eight years.
This year’s podium mirrored last year’s with Cochrane finishing first, George McDougall second and Bow Valley third.
The Bobcats’ win guaranteed Cochrane two medals and the presentation of the first and third place finishes garnered a loud cheer and round of applause from both the Cochrane high schools.
Makkreel said it made the win special given how close the team members of the Cobras and Bobcats are to each other.
“The girls are all friends on the two different teams,” he said. “They all play soccer together, so it’s big. It’s cool that we both get the two medals.”
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