A mix of Black and Green created a golden finish for Okotoks United.
Green edged Black 3-2 in the all-Okotoks final in the U17 boys Tier 2 futsal division to highlight a four-medal weekend at the Anthem United Communities Cup, Jan. 20-23 at the Cavalry FC Regional Field House.
“It’s our home tournament so it’s awesome getting every other team coming here and seeing what Okotoks has to offer,” said Okotoks Green captain Joshua Heuver. “We obviously enjoy taking part in this, we missed last year’s (cup) because of COVID so a couple years back is when this tournament ran.”
Both teams made up for lost-time with a strong showing in the four-team U17 division.
The Green and Black squads were comprised largely of Okotoks’ U17 Tier 1 squad along with a couple younger athletes and split on north-south geographical lines.
“I thought it was fun to play against some guys I normally play with,’’ said Okotoks Black captain Luke Wiggins. “It was a good time, for sure.
“I thought it was close. They had control of the game, but it was close towards the end, we could have equalized there with a few seconds left.”
Okotoks Green took a 3-1 lead into halftime of the gold medal match on Jan. 23 with the Black cutting the deficit to one with six minutes left, leading a frantic finish.
“It really came down to the narrowest of the posts there, they were off by inches multiple times,” Heuver said. “It really could have been anyone’s game.”
In round-robin, Okotoks Green finished tops in the pool with a 2-1 record and wins over Okotoks Black and RASC with Black also earning a 2-1 mark on the strength of wins over RASC and WHU Calglen.
The tournament was the first of the season for the U17 squad with another to come in Red Deer, giving the team the opportunity to compete in futsal.
“It used to be the norm a couple of years back so we would be play it until then,” Heuver said. “And then recently it’s just been like getting ready for this tournament and just special format.
“I certainly like the speed of it. In the seven-on-seven, which is what we normally play, it’s a little slower so in (futsal) you really get the opportunity to go from one end to the other a lot quicker.”
In the U15 Tier 4 boarded ranks, Okotoks earned a silver medal finish with a 2-1 loss in the final to Strathmore in a seesaw affair.
Okotoks advanced to the final after big wins over SWU-MUSC and Rangers Royals.
The home team also claimed bronze in the U13 Tier 4 boarded division with a 2-1 triumph over High River in the third-place match.
The tournament was the second weekend of action from the Communities Cup with the girls competition taking place the weekend prior.
The boys competition featured 51 teams over 11 divisions from U9 to U17.
Visit okotoksunitedsoccer.ca for more information.
