REGINA—Saskatoon teams swept both age groups in the boys' and girls' divisions of the 2024 Prairie Soccer League finals on Saturday, July 20, at Leibel Field in the provincial capital. They will represent Saskatchewan in the Toyota National Championships in October.
Astra Soccer Academy and Saskatoon Alliance Blue will compete in the boys' and girls' U15 divisions, while Saskatoon Alliance's boys and girls squads are playing in the U17 age group. Astra, the defending provincial champions, completed a 3-2 win over QC United.
Astra coach Moe Rtmi said it was an exciting and challenging game in which both teams played their hearts out. He praised QC United, cheered on by the hometown crowd, for never giving up and trying hard to turn things in their favour.
"We want to thank QC for giving us a good fight. Looking back into the season, we deserved it for the quality of work we put in and our preparation for the [championship] game today," said Rtmi.
After the double round-robin, Astra finished second with 23 points behind QC United's 28. Astra had seven wins, three losses, and two draws, while QC finished with a 9-2-1 win-loss-draw record.
He added seven players from last year's winning team, plus some new additions and junior recruits, which turned out to be a practical bunch.
"Last season and the 2023 Nationals were good experiences for some of our players. They put that experience to good use today. We also got good junior and senior players this year," Rtmi said.
Johan Soria, assisted by Coen LeClare, opened the scoring five minutes into the game. Maximo Alvarado started the play when he looped a pass to LaClare, who saw a running Soria inside the box and made the cross.
The ball first bounced off QC's Parth Sapru before Soria, who beat two defenders, slotted it at the back of the net to the delight of their supporters, who drove more than two hours south of Saskatchewan.
Ronan O'Hanlon tied the game in the 14th minute on a QC corner kick. Alvarado, however, made it 2-1 before halftime. The left-footed midfielder scored 20 yards on a free kick in the 36th minute as the ball bounced off the keeper's hands.
Soria completed his brace in the 63rd minute off a long ball from Valentino Silva, giving the U15s a 3-1 lead. U15 games have two 40-minute halves.
QC opted for long balls to score a quick goal as time was not on their side, and their gamble paid off in the 80th minute courtesy of Akash Robb Varma. They had the chance to tie the game three minutes into added time off a free kick from Oudai Alhamami, but Astra keeper Alan Pieczko saved Varma's header promptly.
Pieczko's cat-quick reflexes guessed correctly where Varma's attempt was going and brilliantly saved what could have been a game-tying goal.
"I was impressed by how the boys and their opponents handled the game. Even during the tough moments, they remained composed and worked together to secure the win. Now we are looking forward to the Nationals," said Rtmi.
Astra Academy Manager Chris Zoller added that he was proud of the U15 boys' accomplishments in defending their title and earning another spot at the Nationals.
"The work they did in this game is the culmination of the work they had done all season, which began last fall. Having veteran leadership from the guys who have been here before in this type of situation helped the team," said Zoller.
"They played good football. They settled in and dealt with the heat, a factor, but they found their stride and then put away some good goals. They did a good job managing the game. It got close towards the end of the game, but they put in a good performance."
The team will have an almost two-week break before going back to training. Some Astra players will also compete for Saskatoon in the Saskatchewan Games in Lloydminster.
In other finals matches, Saskatoon Alliance Blue defended their title after a 3-0 win over the FCR Blue Stars. They beat Forge FC last year to earn a spot in the Nationals. In the girls' U15 division, Saskatoon Alliance Black foiled FCR Blues Stars' title bid with a 3-2 decision, while Saskatoon Alliance defeated FCR Blue Stars, 1-0, in the U17 title match.
