Hapnot Collegiate’s girls’ soccer team placed highly at last weekend’s Manitoba high school soccer provincials, getting third place after a dramatic penalty shootout win.
The Kweens punched their ticket to provincials in Birtle Oct. 14-15 after a dominant showing at Zone 11 championships earlier this month, winning out and picking up the banner on their home turf. The Kweens had not lost a game this season heading into provs.
Hapnot started provincials against the Minnedosa Collegiate Chancellors, defeating them 3-0 and advancing to the semi-finals. There, Hapnot would face the toughest test the team had faced to date - the W.C. Miller Collegiate Aces from Altona, who entered the tournament as the top seed and likely championship favourites. In the Aces’ first game, played against the host Birtle Falcons, the Aces beat Birtle 12-0 on their home field, wiping them out of provincials.
The Kweens would put up a good fight against the province’s top seed, but would suffer their first loss of the season, dropping a 2-1 game to the Aces. The Aces would move on to the championship game - the Kweens would be sent to the third place game.
There, the Kweens would play the Neepawa Area Collegiate Tigers, who also ended up there following a tight loss against a title contender - a 4-3 loss to the second-seeded Garden Valley Collegiate Zodiacs from Winkler. That would set up a competitive clash for the bronze, which would end up requiring extra time.
After no goals through 90 minutes and through extra time, the Kweens and Tigers would go to a penalty shootout to decide who would take home third place. In penalties, it was Hapnot’s goalie, Gianna Watt, who would end up being the hero, sliding the ball past her Neepawa counterpart on the right side to claim victory for the Flin Flon squad.
Two Hapnot players - Watt and Shanti Church - were named to the tournament all-star team.
In the boys’ provincials, Zone 11 was represented by the Frontier Mosakahiken Grizzlies from Moose Lake, who narrowly beat the Hapnot Kings in the zone final. The Grizzlies would beat Major Pratt/Rossburn and upset second-seeded Niverville in the play-in and quarterfinal round before losing 1-0 to the Swan Valley Tigers in the semifinals and dropping a 4-0 game to Morden in the third-place game.
