Now, high school soccer can make the same claim.
The Vanier Spirits took a 3-0 win over the Central Cyclones in the final of the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association 4A girls soccer championship this past Saturday, marking the first season in SHSAA history that all four 4A finalists in both girls and boys came from the Moose Jaw league.
For the Spirits, it also marked them as repeat champions, having won the provincial title the last time the tournament was held in 2019.
“It’s very reminiscent of two years ago,” said Spirits coach Daniel Atkins. “It had a very similar vibe, where what we would do in practice we’d underperform in games. There’s just something about regionals and provincials that brings the best out of our team and brings the intensity out of our team and when we play intense we’re at our best.
The Spirits were most definitely that throughout the last two weeks.
After winning a play-in game 15-0 against the Peacock Tornadoes on Sept. 23, Vanier defeated Regina Luther 1-0 in the semifinal in Martensville to set up their battle with Central.
“Luther seems to be the team we need to beat to catch on fire,” said Atkins, referring to the Spirits’ first-round regional win in 2019 that sent them on their way. “We beat them in a really close game and had the intensity we needed and that carried over in the final against Central.”
The Spirits and Cyclones had met once during the regular season, with Central taking a 1-0 victory. As a result, Atkins made sure to caution his troops that things were going to be anything but easy.
“(In the regular season) I thought we kind of underperformed, and that was my big talking point in the finals, we could easily lose to this team if we don’t bring our best game,” Atkins said. “Then we were up 1-0 at half and 3-0 by the end, it was a steady build throughout the game.”
By the time things were said and done, Vanier had completed their provincial run without allowing a goal throughout the playdowns.
“I think this team was maybe more well-round, but it’s tough to say for sure,” Atkins said when asked to compare this to the previous win. “We were definitely able to rely on more players to score goals and make big defensive plays. Not being scored on at all at provincials says a lot about our defensive play and players.”
And, of course, there’s the simple fact the season was played at all. Seeing the players on the field even in the most unusual of circumstances was a huge positive -- and especially when you win it all.
“At the beginning of the season we were just hoping to play with COVID, but now we’re definitely grateful we were able to get it all in,” Atkins said.
