Make it two straight undefeated seasons for the Knights.
The Holy Trinity Academy Knights wrapped up another dominant campaign with their second consecutive South Central Zone senior girls soccer banner at the expense of the rival Cobras, scoring four second half goals in the 5-0 triumph Saturday afternoon in Cochrane.
“We played very well in the first half, we were in the lead and it was basically just don’t let off, maintain the intensity,” said Knights coach Peter Mundy. “We got 40 minutes to win this and go out and have 40 minutes of fun.
“Play the ball around and play with a smile on your face.”
Mission accomplished and then some after seeing the Cobras the day prior in round-robin action.
“We had a chance to see them earlier to pinpoint the strengths of their team and that’s what I targeted,” Mundy said. “They were very strong in midfield in the first game and we made a point of closing them down.
“We also wanted to play wide and getting the crosses in the box and that was basically the ploy. I also said if we were anywhere close to their goal, our holding midfielders should be around the box and take long shots and it worked.”
A solo effort from Grade 12 striker Brielle Masse staked the Knights to a 1-0 lead at the half with a considerable edge in possession.
In the second-half, the Knights grabbed momentum and didn’t let go.
Club soccer teammates Holly Stiel and Olivia Kranjcec, fresh off competing at the U17 nationals with Calgary Foothills, made their mark with three goals in quick succession.
Kranjcec made it a two-goal lead 10 minutes into the second half when she curled in a perfect shot from the edge of the box after Stiel set her up with a brilliant through ball.
Two minutes later the Knights were celebrating again as Stiel picked the far corner when the ball bounced to her off a free kick.
Kranjcec added her second goal of the half when she was given time and space in the box from the left wing position to strike a low right footed shot into the back of the net.
Holding midfielder Jenna Tiedje wrapped up the scoring in the final seconds with a volley off a direct free-kick from Kranjcec.
“Our morale was super high and there’s was starting to lower,” said Knights Grade 12 centre back Emily Ostafichuk. “We spent a lot of time in their half in the second half.”
Owning the lion’s share of possession, the Knights were steady at the back and helped goalkeeper Davyda Bedard preserve the clean-sheet.
“We had to watch for a lot of through balls because they have a lot of fast players on the wing,” said HTA Grade 10 centre-back Kylie Tiedje. “We just had to remember to cover for that.
“You have to stay calm in this position because if you freak out, you’re the last line.”
For the third-year members of the squad, the zone banner puts a bow on a stretch of winning seldom seen in high school sports. HTA, four-time defending FAC league champions, suffered its only loss over the past three seasons in the 2017 zone final to the Cobras.
“This meant a lot because we were really nervous,” said Ostafichuk. “Because we heard so many good things about Cochrane and Springbank and we didn’t have a very competitive league so we didn’t get used to the style of play.
“So this is really exciting.”
HTA had to get acclimatized in a hurry at the two-day competition.
The round-robin opener on Friday featured the Knights and Cobras, ending in a 3-2 victory in a penalty shootout for the Knights.
“We’ve been thinking about (this final) the whole time,” said Tiedje. “We’ve heard that the last few years they’ve been really hard and the biggest competition.
“It was hard to get into it, especially for the first game of the tournament.”
HTA then dispatched league foe Strathmore 13-0 to earn the top-seed out of Pool A.
They would meet the Foothills Falcons, the runner-ups in the FAC, in what proved to be a nailbiter semifinal.
Stiel notched the game-winner late in the second half to break the goalless deadlock and send the Knights into the championship match.
Keeping the Knights at bay for most of the contest was no small feat with Foothills goalkeeper Meghan Dhaliwal putting in a Herculean effort on the last line of defence.
“We focused on our defence, ensuring that we clogged up the middle and just tried to hope to clear the ball,” said Falcons coach Christine Victor-Horner. “We had a couple good tries at the net, but we held them off for almost an hour.”
Foothills finished fourth in the competition, dropping a 5-0 result to Springbank in the bronze medal match. The Falcons finished 1-1 in pool play, beating Canmore to earn the second seed out of the group.
“I’m pretty proud of the girls,” Victor-Horner said. “We didn’t have a lot of depth on the bench, injuries, sickness, other commitments.
“The (bronze medal) game we only had one (extra) person, but they pulled through.”
