R.D. Parker Collegiate's girls' soccer team had the opportunity to qualify for the provincial championships when they made it to the final as hosts of the Zone 11 soccer championships in Thompson Oct. 4-5 but couldn't overcome an early deficit against the Hapnot Collegiate Institute Kopper Kweens from Flin Flon and wound up on the bottom end of a 4-1 score under sunny skies with a cold wind at Burntwood Elementary School field.
Hapnot took the wind out of the RDPC Trojans' sails with an early goal on a high shot that arced just over goaltender Caitlin Fennell's outstretched fingers. The Kopper Kweens doubled that lead about five minutes later on a high shot into the top corner. Hapnot had an easy time on the third goal, when a shot that was stopped by the Trojans defence but not cleared out of the penalty area came to the ground just in front of one of the Kweens, and she buried it into the open net.
RDPC scored once in the second half but Hapnot matched that effort and finished the game with the same three-goal lead they had at halftime.
The Trojan girls an easier time of it in their first game on Oct. 5, beating the Otter Nelson River Nikiks from Cross Lake in a shutout game that was called on a mercy rule when RDPC went up 10-0.
RDPC's boys' team went into the final game of the round robin against Frontier Mosakahiken School from Moose Lake knowing that whichever team came out the winner would finish first in the pool and advance to the boys' final.
The Moose Lake Grizzlies went up 1-0 early in that game, maintaining control after a corner kick attempt and taking the lead with a high shot under the cross bar. It remained a one-goal affair until early in the second half, when Moose Lake got their second of the game. They stretched the lead to three later in the half and made the final score 4-0 with a successful penalty kick.
The Trojan boys finished the tournament in a consolation final against Otter Nelson River, who finished second in the other pool. The teams traded goals in the first half before the Nikiks took their second lead after a free kick. RDPC battled back to tie it in the second half before prevailing 3-2 after the game went to a penalty kick shootout.
