The Eagles scored a pair of goals in each half on their way to a 4-1 victory over Central in league action at Sunningale Field on Thursday. Given the depth of Weyburn’s program – including a handful of provincial team-calibre players – and the success the Eagles have had in recent seasons, seeing things that close came as a morale victory for the Cyclones.
“Weyburn is a pretty strong team, I thought we did pretty good against them even if we did lose,” said Central senior Jayme Puersten. “I think it was actually positive for us since we were so close.”
There were stretches of the game where the Cyclones were able to generate sustained pressure on the Eagles, including in the second half when Leota Gray scored Central’s lone goal.
“I think we have to keep the physicality up in the game and match how physical they’re being and how aggressive,” said Central’s Sage McCulloch. “Once we started getting first to the ball we were able to connect with passes and get the goal.”
The end result combined with the team’s fifth place finish at Soccerfest has shown the Cyclones that they can stay competitive even with elite teams. The key now will be to keep that momentum going.
“It really brings something for us to work up to this season,” Puersten said. “They’re a really strong team and for us being so close in score, if we try hard enough we think we can definitely beat them.”
Alexi Sirounis scored twice for Weyburn, while Kylie Van De Woestyne and Nyla Prochinsky added single markers.
In earlier league action Monday, the Swift Current Ardens rolled to an 11-2 win over the Vanier Spirits to improve to 3-0 on the season and 7-0 overall, including their tournament win in Soccerfest.
M.J. Anderson scored twice and added two assists for Swift Current, while Tenille Willows, Jannae Carlson, Jaycee Berggren all had two goals each. Taylor Kohls, Heidi Spetz and Calli Moreau-Simpson each scored once.
Both the high school boys and girls soccer leagues will have a full day of competition Saturday.
In girls league action, Peacock will take on Vanier at 10:30 a.m. followed by Vanier facing Central at 2:45 p.m. Both games are at Sunningdale.
The boys league will see a trio of games at VLA fields, with Weyburn taking on Peacock at 10:30 a.m., followed by Weyburn against Central and Swift Current against Peacock at 2:45 p.m.
