Ardens tested by Cyclones in high school girls soccer

For the first half of their Moose Jaw high school girls soccer league contest with the Central Cyclones on Saturday afternoon, things were close for the Swift Current Ardens.

A little too close.

The 11-time defending league champions and perennial provincial title contenders found themselves holding a 1-0 lead, despite carrying play much of the half. That all changed after the break, though, and the Ardens improved to 5-0 on the season with a 6-0 victory at Sunningdale Field.

“Today, it was good because we got pushed a lot more than the previous games,” said Ardens assistant coach Steven Mah. “Central was well organized and kind of sat back and gave us a bit of a challenge of working around them. It was a good test for us, I thought we played really well, moved the ball really well and took our time and were patient, so we’re really happy with that.”

That first half though...

“The finishing was awful, we have some players up front who should be putting some more balls in the back of the net, but we got it sorted out in the second half,” Mah said. “Overall, it was a good game for us, there’s stuff we saw in this game that we’ll work on and try to improve on in practice.”

Tenille Willows scored the lone goal of the first half, but Bryn Haubrich scored twice in the second to go along with single markers from Olivia Koebel, Jaycee Bergen and Dani Meyer.

The season in general has been a familiar one for Swift Current -- commanding win after commanding win, often by double digits. But keeping things on an even keel even with the domination hasn’t been an issue this season, for good reason.

“With everything that’s happened with COVID, it’s been easier to stay focussed and motivated,” Mah said. “Every game we get in we’re happy about it, they’re pretty grateful to be out there and they’re having fun and happy to be playing soccer.”

Across the field from that contest Saturday, the Vanier Spirits and Yorkton Sacred Heart Saints went on an offensive blitz before Vanier took a 9-7 victory.

The Spirits led 6-4 at the half and had hat tricks from Ashly Hennenfent and Jaicee Maruska to go along with a pair of goals from Michaela DeCorby. Sheila Ruberwa scored their other marker. Sophie Smith scored four times for Yorkton, Sarah Van Koughnett hit the twine three times.

League action continues Wednesday with Central at Weyburn and Peacock at Swift Current.