Based on how things went between the Central Cyclones and the Yorkton Regional Raiders in the Moose Jaw High School Athletic Association boys soccer regular season, it seemed all but certain that Tuesday’s championship game would be a close, hard-fought affair.
As it turns out, that was exactly the case.
The Cyclones scored the lone goal of the first half, added a crucial insurance marker around the 60th minute and would hold on for a 2-1 victory at Canada Games Field.
The win came after the two teams had battled to a 1-1 draw in their first meeting before Yorkton took a 3-2 victory back at the beginning of the month.
Those two results were enough to put some strategy in place, though, and it worked to tee when it came to turning things Central’s way.
“We changed our formation so we were playing a little bit different in the midfield because the match-up was a bit different,” explained Central coach Holly McCorriston. “We took a look at the last few games we played and adjusted.
"We’re happy with how it turned out, it was according to plan and that’s what we’re looking for. Especially to get that second goal, we wanted the lead and we wanted to hold it, so we were playing a lot more defensively than we would normally it worked out well.”
Landon Meacher scored the lone goal of the opening half on a penalty kick, and it was Cohen McDonald who extended the edge to 2-0. McDonald was sprung down the right side and outraced his defender before putting a shot past a charging Yorkton goaltender into the far left corner from about 30 yards out.
The importance of that marker couldn’t be overstated -- the Raiders kept the balance of play in the Central half much of the final 40 minutes, and they broke through with about 10 minutes remaining when Logan Westvalt was taken down in the box and awarded a penalty kick.
Yorkton had a handful of chances through the remainder of the game, too -- including another moment in the final minutes where they thought they’d earned another penalty kick -- but the Cyclones held strong to earn the victory.
The league championship essentially marks a continuation of playoff season, with the Cyclones now travelling to Regina for regionals before hosting the provincial 4A boys championship during the Oct. 28 weekend.
Seeing her troops come away with the confidence-boosting win while throwing a few wrinkles into the works bodes well for big games ahead, said McCorriston.
“It’s nice to have the diversity to change what we’re doing,” she said. “We have a few different plans of attack, which will be helpful in provincials. So we’re looking forward to it.”
One thing that’s for certain is a season of practice and preparation has already paid off and if things go according to plan there will be plenty more important wins in the coming days.
“Hard work pays off and we’ll keep at it,” McCorriston said. “The guys have worked hard, it’s another two weeks and we’ll see what we can do.”
