R.D. Parker Collegiate's boys' and girls' soccer teams emerged from their first tournament of the season Sept. 26 in Swan River with identical records, both recording one win, one regulation loss and one penalty kick loss as they tuned up for last weekend's zone championships in Flin Flon.
"We got off to an unlucky start, losing on penalties to the Swan side after having a goal disallowed for reasons none of us could understand," said James Crouch, one of the boys' team coaches.
"I was surprised how they played," said co-coach Earl Kuldys, considering it was the first game situation the mostly young team had been in on the season. "They never gave up. They battled right to the end."
Things didn't go so well for the Trojans' boys in their second contest, which saw them matched up against the Hapnot Collegiate Institute Kopper Kings from Flin Flon, who outscored RDPC 5-0 for the win.
Despite the lopsided score, both coaches felt their team was not outclassed.
"We were by far the better side for the first half of the game, with great effort, commitment and energy shown by all the team," said Crouch. "However, our poor marking in deadball situations, corners, free kicks and throw-ins left us exposed in the second half."
"We gave them four goals just by stupid mistakes," added Kuldys. "They scored on their opportunities and we didn't."
The boys closed the tournament with a shutout win over Winnipegosis.
"The third game was interesting," said Crouch. "We played poorly and started to demonstrate a lack of energy and effort. However, after a direct and firm team talk at halftime, we came off winning 5-0."
For Crouch, the tournament was his first taste of high school soccer in Canada.
"This was the first time I had seen the quality of the opposition in Northern Manitoba and Flin Flon were by far the most organized side and you could tell they had been playing together for some time," said Crouch. "Their coach had them well-disciplined. The score did not reflect the game and it may be hard to believe but I think we had the ability to get a result."
"They're a good team," said Kuldys, adding that he and Crouch made some adjustments to the Trojans' game to help them at zones if they advance to meet Hapnot.
The girls' squad opened with a 3-0 win over Swan Valley, then lost 3-1 to Hapnot before finishing with a 2-1 penalty kick loss to Birtle.
"Both teams did us proud and gave a great representation of the high school," said Crouch, who singled out his centre-half Zac Saunders for exceptional play in Swan River. "He was full of running, firm in the challenge and totally committed for every second he was on the park."
He also predicted better results before departing for Flin Flon last Friday.
"I'm sure we will perform much better than last week," said Crouch, who plans to involve the team in year-round training with indoor practices once this season is over. "The high school has given two indoor gym sessions a week throughout the winter."
