Ambrose Lions Futsal Teams Settle for Silver

Lions Futsal Teams Settle for Silver   

March 11, 2009 – The ACAL futsal championships took place at Keyano College in Fort McMurray, Alberta on the weekend of March 6 and 7, 2009.  The Ambrose Lions were represented by both the men’s and women’s team.

The Lion women entered the championship tournament with a undefeated record and a 1st place finish in the regular season.  They faced the Olds Broncos in the semi-final and dispatched them easily with an 8-1 victory.  The Boda sisters, Casey and Kara, who both scored for the Lions, led the women offensively; while Kelly Sagan and Karlie Silcock were stellar defensively.  The victory set them up for a clash with the host Keyano the following day.

The Lions had tied and beaten Keyano in the two regular season matches and entered the day with confidence.  Kara Boda got the team out to an early 1-0 lead, but Keyano battled back.  They scored 2 quick goals to head into the half with the lead.  Keyano would score another 2nd half goal to defeat the Lions 3-1 and claim the ACAL championship. 

The men entered the tournament in 3rd place and faced a very tough Taylor Fire team in the semi-final match on Friday.  The men, facing injuries to captain Jon Pettigrew and starting keeper Kevin Reierson, knew it had to be a total team effort if they expected to win.  Back-up keeper Adam Wiebe stepped in a did a superb job between the pipes and 1st year forward Andrae Koschewski led the Lions scoring all 5 goals in a 5-2 won over the Fire, setting up a battle with top ranked Keyano Huskies.

Although the underdog, the Lions came prepared to battle, and battle they did.  Kevin Reierson battled though injury and stepped into the net in attempt to battle through the pain of his injured hand.  The Lions had another spectacular effort from Koschewski who potted 2 more goals.  The Huskies ultimately proved to be too tough for the Lions who fell 6-2 in the ACAL final.

While the Lions did not accomplish their goal of winning gold, they did not leave Fort McMurray empty handed.  The All-Conference teams were named and a few Lions were recognized for their strong seasons.  Casey Boda and Alison Parry were both named 1st team All-Conference players, while Matt Eagleson was named 1st team and Jon Pettigrew and Adam Wiebe were both named to the 2nd team.