The Bonnyville U17 girls team released the beast.
The team had a strong season, and made an appearance at the Alberta soccer rural provincials tournament in Camrose on June 23.
Regardless of the fact that the girls didn’t bring home hardware, defence player Grace Haley believes the team had a great season overall.
“The thing that matters the most is that we had fun,” she said. “The fact that all of our hard work paid off, and that we got to provincials is important.”
The Beasts won gold in the Lakeland Cup and only lost one league game of the season. This put them in the right place for provincials.
Head coach Morgan Metcalfe described the team as competitive and focused on helping, communicating, and scoring.
“We got really close as a team, and that helped us play better on the field,” expressed Haley.
They picked up two players from St. Paul to join them at provincials, and won the fair play award for the rural U17 girls league.
Cassandra Schmidt is the goalie for the team, and said that it felt great winning the Lakeland Cup. Like Haley, she didn’t see the loss at provincials as a big deal.
“As long as we play as a team and do our best, that’s all that matters.”
Metcalfe saw great improvement in the team’s communication during games, and felt their growth this season was phenomenal.
She added, “I’m really proud of all of them and how well they did.”
It was Metcalfe’s first year coaching, and her assistant coaches and players praised the choices made throughout the season.
“The coaches did a really good job focusing on skills to help develop and improve our techniques at the sport,” emphasized Schmidt.
After losing a player early in the season due to an injury, the Beasts struggled with a smaller roster, but regardless of being one girl short, they kept their spirits high and their eyes on the prize.
