The Sacred Heart High School Saints boys’ soccer team walked away from their provincial 2A tournament with bronze medals last weekend.Â
The tournament was hosted in Yorkton because of the Saints’ gold medal win at last year’s provincials.Â
The first game for the Saints was played on Friday afternoon against Kipling. The Saints breezed through the quarterfinal game, winning 12-0. The shut out went to keeper Tami Ogunbiyi. Goals were scored by Nick Fetsch (7), Louis Shin (2), Caleb Hove, Success Agomuoh and Alfonz Dionisio.Â
Next up was the semi-final game, where the Saints would face Humboldt. This game would be much more challenging for the Saints, and although it was a hard fought match, Humboldt came away with the 5-2 win. Unfortunately for the Saints, two of their key players were facing struggles during the semi-final match. Coaches said Dami Ogunbiyi had experienced very bad leg cramps and was not able to play most of the second half, while striker Nick Fetsch battled through an aggravated hip injury and had difficulty running. Fetsch still managed to get the Saints’ two goals in the match.
“We played a really strong first-half of the game, and there was a couple of plays in the second half where they kind of got us on our heels,” offered Saints coach Scott Hoffort.Â
“They just never let the momentum go,” Hoffort said, referring to Humboldt.Â
The Saints had a 2-1 lead at the half of the semi-final game. But Humboldt got their second goal quickly after halftime.
“It just took the winds out of our sails and the boys couldn’t respond,” said Sacred Heart coach Jeanne Fetsch. “It could have gone either way. It really wasn’t a one-sided game.”
Fetsch added that nonetheless, Humboldt is a good, skilled team and they seemed to “want it” more than the Saints did during that particular game.Â
That loss would place Sacred Heart in the bronze medal game on Saturday afternoon against Regina Sheldon Williams. The Saints took the win 8-0. Tami Ogunbiyi had the shut out again, and Saints’ goal scorers were Nick Fetsch (4), Louis Shin (3) and Dami Ogunbiyi on a penalty kick.
After the bronze medal game, Saints coaches Fetsch and Hoffort said they were happy with how their team responded after the defeat they faced in the semi-final game.
“We were a little bit disappointed because we knew that we probably could have been in the final, but the boys came to play today and they played excellent,” said Fetsch.Â
“Some of our leadership group today, they were playing hurt and they put in a heck of an effort,” offered Hoffort. “It made for a really good finish to the year.”
Despite the understandable disappointment of not making it into the championship game, both coaches agreed that in the end, it’s not all about soccer.
“We really want the kids to learn from these things. It’s not just about sports, it’s about becoming a better person. And I hope that they did learn something,” said Hoffort.Â
The Saints’ season concluded with bronze medals, and the team record from the season was 13-4.
It was a noteable season finish for Nick Fetsch, who set a school record in scoring finishing with 59 goals and 18 assists for a total of 77 points in 17 games.
With only one grade 12 player graduating this year, the team is likely to look very strong next season. The team wishes their grade 12 player, Louis Shin, the best in the future as they bid him farewell.
“We’ll be back, and we’ll be hungry next year,” added Fetsch.Â
On a final note, the coaches wanted to thank all sponsors who helped them throughout the season, as well as all parents who show up to every game to cheer on the Saints team.Â
