Hapnot’s Kings and Kweens soccer teams opened up their provincial tournament bid with wins last weekend, but the competition got the better of them in the end.
Both of the school’s teams, fresh off winning the zone 11 championships earlier this month, entered Manitoba high school soccer provincials Oct. 13-14 in Dauphin, picking up wins and competing hard before having their seasons cut short.
On the boys’ side, the Kings opened up their provincial bid with a 5-1 win over Swan Valley, a team they already beat earlier this year. However, that set up a matchup with the province’s number-two ranked team - the Garden Valley Zodiacs, who would prove to be too much for Hapnot to handle. The Zodiacs handed Hapnot an emphatic 9-1 loss, on their way to winning the provincial title.
The loss sent the Kings into the consolation bracket, where they would play against the Morweena Christian School Raptors. The Raptors reached the game by beating the Frontier Mosakahiken Grizzlies 6-5 - the Grizzlies were the team Hapnot beat in the zone 11 final to qualify for provincials, having received a wildcard bid into the tournament but losing both games they played.
With a chance to avenge their northern rivals, the Kings found the back of the net once, but couldn’t keep their end of the sheet clean, losing to Morweena 3-1 and ending their season.
Eight players from the Kings squad - Zack Davis, Hendre Gouws, Hunter Hynes, Kenny MacDonald, Shea McCullum, Kenny Morris, Bobby Smith and Carson Taylor - are Grade 12 students and will not return for more games. Three out of Hapnot’s five defenders, both of their keepers and five midfielders - Hynes and McCullum were eligible as both keepers and midfielders - are slated to graduate this year.
The Kweens had a similar trip through the provincial ladder, winning their first game against the host Dauphin Regional Comprehensive Secondary School (DRCSS) Clippers 1-0. Once again, Hapnot would be pushed into a matchup with the second-seeded team - the Niverville Panthers - and would take a lopsided loss, getting knocked out of the winner’s bracket with a 5-1 loss.
Moving down into the consolation bracket, Hapnot would face the Minnedosa Chancellors, who would end Hapnot’s season and hand the Kweens a 1-0 loss en route to winning the consolation round.
Four Kweens players - Elizabeth Cockerill, Jenna Thompson, Keira Wood and Roxanne Wray - are set to graduate and have played their final high school soccer games. The rest of the team, mostly made up of Grade 9 and 10 players, can all return to play next year.
