BY CODY STEEVES
Despite a lack of players on the women’s indoor soccer team at a tournament at home, both Conestoga varsity teams played well, although they were knocked out early.
Both teams were eliminated before the semifinals.
During the women’s final game of the day, they played with only one sub after having a number of players leave due to commitments at school, leaving their lineup with just seven players instead of the usual 10. Despite this they played exceedingly well, ending up in a three-way tie for a place in the semifinals, but were eliminated due to having the highest goals against average after their two games played. Another notable loss happened during their final match against Centennial, when their main goalkeeper, Caitlyn Schlegel, was injured. She was replaced by defender Amanda Gohn.
Varsity soccer coach Aldo Krajcar said he hopes to have one or two more players join the women’s team to help bolster their roster, saying this isn’t the first time they have been short players and it will likely not be the last time either. He believes due to the games being on a weekday, the players have other commitments at school which end up being more of a priority.
While the women were lacking players the men certainly were not. Their roster contained 15 players throughout the tournament, but they were still missing key players. However, despite the team’s strong offensive prowess, their defence was lacking. In both of their games they held an early lead, most notably during their final game against Sheridan, where they finished the first half of the game up 1-0. The second half was well-fought, however, their strikers couldn’t find another marker and the Condors ending up losing 3-1.
Krajcar said the defensive weakness is one area that needs to be worked on, adding although they lost the tournament he believes that he is conditioning them for regionals.
In addition to the varsity teams, the Conestoga College alumni team competed in the tournament and played well, notably in the semifinals, where they fought tooth and nail for their victory, finishing the game 4-3. Thanks to their stonewall defence and goaltending, the alumni team was able to carry on and win the tournament.
