For the first time in 14 years, the Moose Jaw High Schools Athletic Association will have new champions in both the boys and girls soccer leagues.
The Swift Current Colts claimed the boys title with a 5-0 victory over the Central Cyclones on Wednesday night at YaraCentre field, while the Yorkton Regional Raiders ended the Swift Current Ardens 13-year run as league champions with a 7-0 victory in the girls final.
The Cyclones advanced to the championship game thanks to an emotional 3-2 overtime victory over previously unbeaten Yorkton Regional in the semifinal on Monday, and that played a factor in how things turned out in the title game.
“It was okay to start with, but our guys were pretty tired from playing Regional just two days before and we’re preparing for regionals, which is always a big weekend,” said Cyclones head coach Holly McCorriston.”So that and injuries slowed us down and they were able to get through and get past us… It’s one of those ones where we’re going to put this behind us and focus on the next one.”
The semifinal win was one of the most impressive victories of the season for the Cyclones, who had lost 5-3 to Yorkton Regional in the regular season.
“That game was exceptional, the turnaround (from the regular-season loss) was incredible, I don’t think I’ve seen one that dramatic,” McCorriston said. “They should be really proud of that win, they really worked together as a team and deserved it.”
The Colts had finished in fourth place with a 2-3 record in the regular season but got hot at just the right time, taking a 4-2 win over Yorkton Sacred Heart in their semifinal before posting the shutout against Central.
The girls league final saw the end of an era.
For nearly a decade and a half, the Swift Current Ardens had stood over the Moose Jaw league like an iron colossus, but the 2023 campaign brought about a changing of the guard.
The Ardens had finished the regular season with a 2-2 record -- the first time they’d lost two games in a campaign since before 2010 -- but you don’t win as many titles as they have without coming up big in the playoffs.
That came in the semifinal, when Swift Current upset second-place Yorkton Sacred Heart 6-0 to book their spot in the title game.
There, Yorkton Regional lived up to their unbeaten record, posting their sixth shutout of the season and capping the campaign having scored 24 goals and allowed only one -- that to Swift Current in Yorkton’s 4-1 regular season win.
Teams will now quickly refocus for the regional championships beginning Friday. Both the boys and girls 4A regionals will be at the YaraCentre fields, with play continuing through to the finals on Saturday afternoon.
