Moose Jaw will be home to Saskatchewan's version of the World Cup this weekend as the Moose Jaw Soccer Association (MJSA) hosts the Soccer for Life Outdoor Youth Soccer Provincial Championships.
“There's 45 teams from across Saskatchewan coming out and it's going to make for some great soccer here in the city,” said John Shurniak, office manager with the MJSA.
The tournament will open on Saturday with games running throughout the weekend and the finals happening on Canada Day, Tuesday.
“We're going to start Saturday at two o'clock and then Sunday we're starting bright and early at 9am and then we're going to seven o'clock. Monday is going to be 9am until six and Tuesday we're starting at 9am with the semifinals and the final matches will start at around 11 o'clock,” explained Shurniak.
The schedule will be keeping Smith Fields, the Canada Games 2005 Fields and VLA Fields busy over the four days of action. Smith Fields will serve as the main host site with the majority of games happening at the facility on South Hill.
The competition will be fierce throughout the four days with action happening across eight different divisions. There will be 11v11 games as well as 8v8 action.
“We've got teams from Regina, Saskatoon, some smaller centres like Lloydminster and Humboldt, and then we've got three teams from Moose Jaw participating as well,” said Shurniak.
The three local teams taking part will be hitting the field in the Boys Under-14 11v11 division, Boys Under-16 11v11 and Girls Under-16 8v8. All three teams will have a strong shot at walking away with some hardware.
“I like our chances with all three of our teams,” said Shurniak.
The Moose Jaw Storm under-14 boys squad will have the toughest road to a title as they suit up in a 12-team bracket. They open up against the AC Pumas Red on Saturday night at 5:45pm. The final goes on Tuesday at 3:00pm.
In the Boys Under-16 11v11 division, the Moose Jaw Storm will be going against eight other teams for the provincial crown. They'll play four round robin games, starting on Saturday afternoon against the Lakewood Falcons at 4:30pm.
“Our Under-16 team is very similar to last year's team expect they're a year stronger and a year more experienced,” said Shurniak. “They lost out in the semifinals on penalty kicks last year.”
Finally, the Moose Jaw Storm under-16 girls team will be going head-to-head with Unidad for the provincial title. The two teams will play a two-game total goal series for the championship. The first game goes at 10:15am on Sunday and the second game follows at 3:15pm.
The tournament will also feature the SaskEnergy Skills Competition on Sunday at 5:00pm. All players participating in provincials will have a chance to win prizes by showing off their skills in various challenges.
“It's going to a nice break from the team aspect and it's a fun competition for the kids to strut their stuff,” added Shurniak.
Mon, May 6, 8:00 AM
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