Vincent Massey, St. Paul’s win provincial soccer championships

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This article was published 15/06/2022 (1556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SOUTH WINNIPEG

South Winnipeg teams featured heavily at the business end of the recent provincial high school AAAA varsity soccer championships.

On June 4, Vincent Massey Collegiate (Winnipeg) beat Collège Jeanne-Sauvé 6-0 in the girls’ championship game, while St. Paul’s High School beat Collège Louis-Riel 2-1 in the boys’ championship game.

In the third place games, Kelvin High School beat Balmoral Hall School in the girls’ game, and West Kildonan Collegiate beat J.H. Bruns Collegiate in the boys’ game.

Jennifer Davis-Persaud, the joint head coach of the Vincent Massey Collegiate’s (Winnipeg) girls’ team, said the team’s success is testament to the hard work of everyone involved with the team. The other joint head coach is Megan Maxfield.

“As a head coach, you’re always a little bit nervous going into a final, but I had confidence in our team,” said Davis-Persaud, noting the team didn’t concede a goal in its five regular season games and three provincial championship games.

“I knew that if we started the game well, our confidence would build from there.”

Going into half-time of the championship game 2-0 up, Vincent Massey scored a third shortly after the restart, and went from strength to strength, scoring another three to lift the trophy.

In terms of its composition, the team was a mix of two ninth, two tenth and two eleventh grade girls, as well as several twelfth graders. It was essentially the same team as the school’s indoor soccer team, Davis-Persaud said, plus four other players, and this consistency of personnel was another factor behind its success.

Because she was busy coaching the team and staying focused on the task in hand, Davis-Persaud said the championship win didn’t sink in until a few hours after the final whistle.

“It didn’t really sink in until later that night. It was just one of those years as a coach, one of those seasons, and it gives you a great sense of satisfaction and pride. Our players are so talented, and they just kept getting better and better,” she said.

The selected all-stars reflect talent on show at the tournament from a number of Winnipeg schools.

The girls’ all-stars included J.H. Bruns Collegiate’s Ava Memka; Miles Macdonell Collegiate’s Karlee Ballast; Collège Jeanne-Sauvé’s Isabella Tascona, Marlene Zarychta, and Lauren Hokanson; Vincent Massey Collegiate’s Signy McKim and Taryn Cabak; Centre scolaire Léo-Rémillard’s Emily Firth; Vincent Massey Collegiate’s (Brandon) Mackenzie Boyes; Kelvin High School’s Silvana Scaramuzzi; and Balmoral Hall School’s Ryann Hafenbrack. The tournament’s MVP was Vincent Massey Collegiate’s (Winnipeg) Gwen Ostermann.

The boys’ all-stars included Collège Louis-Riel’s David Bunguke, Saidi Madaraka, and Musaka W’Esuu; West Kildonan Collegiate’s Leo Takahashi; J.H. Bruns Collegiate’s Kenan Hukic; Steinbach Regional High School’s Sam Fuss; Linden Christian School’s Ari Hooker; Vincent Massey Collegiate’s (Brandon) Kevin Garcia; St. Paul High School’s Alex Oprea and Emmanuel Bezabeh; and Kelvin High School’s Oliver Altemeyer. The tournament’s MVP was St. Paul’s High School’s Jacob Tsai.