The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
It came down to the same two teams this year as it did last and it was the same outcome. The Hapnot Kopper Kings soccer team trumped the Joe A Ross Flyers from The Pas in the finals of Zones this weekend. The Kings led the majority of the game 1-0 until the last five minutes of the second half when the Flyers were able to get a few goals. With the score tied at 2-2, the Kings were able to find the mesh with a minute to go to make it 3-2 for the win. Kings coach Steve Lytwyn says between the the finals and the two previous games the team played, they were able to step up when it counted. "We did what we had to do to win," said the coach. "At times we were playing the way I see us capable of." The coach says although they played and were able to win, there will still times the team was "lacking" in their games. "But overall, I'm happy with our performance," he says. Going into the finals, the team knew they were going to be facing their toughest challenge of the weekend. Next for the Kings will be Provincials in Steinbach, coming up in two weeks. For the next few days, according to Lytwyn, the team will be working on getting healthy and preparing for their biggest competition of the year. A few bumps and bruises have a number of the players down from the weekend, but the coach feels they should be as good as new for the tournament. In that time, Lytwyn says the Kings will have six practices on the field before they leave. In hopes for the Provincials, like any year, the coach says it would be great for the team to make it to the medal level. With 10 teams in the two pools, Lytwyn says the team has to keep their play consistent and competitive, also noting that if a team loses one game, they pretty much lose it all. Once a team is placed in the B pool, there is no getting back to the A pool.
