Young players get their kicks at annual Soccerfest

Swift Current teams had a chance to showcase their skills at the 18th annual Southwest Soccerfest this past weekend.

Over 50 games were featured in four age divisions during the three day event, with Swift Current teams posting good results during their season highlight tournament.

It was an all Swift Current final in the Girls U10 Division, with the two city entries finishing at the top of the four team flight. Swift Current United TNT won the championship with a 2-0 win over the Swift Current Lightning Bolts. The two city teams were evenly matched, with the Lightning Bolts earning a 2-0 win over TNT in the tournament opening game.

In round robin action, TNT moved to the top of the standings with 2-0 wins over both Melfort and Weyburn. The Lightning Bolts were second overall after a 1-1 tie with Weyburn and a 2-2 tie against Melfort.

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The Swift Current United U10 Boys had a strong showing at their home tournament, posting a 1-1-2 record after picking up a hard fought 2-0 win over Melfort to start their game play on Sunday.

The Boys U10 Division was a three team affair, with Swift Current United playing a two game series against both Weyburn and Melfort. Melfort posted the best record during the tournament to earn top spot, while Swift Current fought to a runner up finish. Swift Current and Weyburn played to 2-2 and 0-0 ties, while Swift Current earned a 41 win and a 4-2 loss to Melfort.

The championship in the Boys U12 Division was decided in penalty kicks, with the host Swift Current United Red falling 5-4 to Melfort. Swift Current had fought back from an early 3-0 deficit and battled back to tie the final, but they could not finish the comeback during a six round shootout.

The United Red team posted a perfect 3-0 round robin record, earning a 4-2 win over Weyburn, a 3-2 win against Coaldale, plus a 6-2 victory over Regina.

Swift Current United also had a team in the B Pool in the seven team U12 Boys event. The United team earned a 16-0 win over Kindersley and battled to a 3-3 tie with Melfort. With Swift Current and Melfort tied in the standings, a shootout was utilized to break the tie, where Melfort won a shootout to advance into the championship final. The United dropped a 4-2 decision to Coaldale in the B Final.

Visiting teams enjoyed the upper hand in the U 12 Girls Division, with Medicine Hat rolling through the tournament undefeated, and Weyburn capturing second spot. Swift Current’s two entries finished third and fourth in the six team round robin event.

The Swift Current U12 United Wildfire started strong with a 6-1 win over the Hurricanes and a 6-0 win against Regina, but they dropped a hard fought 2-0 decision to Medicine Hat and they dropped a one-goal 4-3 contest to Weyburn.

The Hurricanes fell by a 6-1 margin in their opener against the Wildfire, and could not get on track with a 4-1 loss to Medicine Hat and a 2-0 shutout loss to Weyburn. However their offence woke up in their tournament finale, as they stormed to an 8-1 win over Regina.

A shootout was also unkind to the Swift Current United U14 Boys, as they dropped a 4-3 penalty kick decision to Melfort in the U14 boys championship final on Sunday. Swift Current showed a marked improvement from a 5-1 loss to Melfort during a windy Saturday morning. Swift Current’s offence got hot to close the round robin with wins of 7-3 over Weyburn and 7-4 against Kindersley.

Medicine Hat ran away with the U14 Girls Division with a perfect 4-0 record while outscoring their opponents 152. The Swift Current United Elite posted a second place record in the round robin with a 5-0 shutout win over Swift Current United Dynamo, a 4-0 loss to Medicine Hat, followed by a 0-0 tie with Yorkton and a 4-1 win over Regina.

The U12 United Dynamo dropped 5-0 decisions to both the United Elite and Medicine Hat, along with a 2-0 loss to Regina before generating their first goals of the tournament in a 4-2 loss to Yorkton.

The Swift Current United U16 Girls played a pair of exhibition games against visiting Medicine Hat on Sunday. In the opening game Brittney Lamontagne scored the winning goal with 10 minutes left in the contest to lift the United to a 4-3 game one victory. The teams ran to a 0-0 scoreless draw in the exhibition concluding game later in the afternoon.