Okotoks United wrapped up three weeks of tournament soccer the best way possible.
In the third and final weekend of the Anthem United Communities Cup the hometown squad hit the top of the podium Sunday at the Crescent Point Regional Field House as Okotoks’ U18 boys polished off an unbeaten record while playing up a division.
“The teams we were playing were Tier II and we’ve been playing this year Tier III,” said Okotoks U18 head coach Dave Marsh. “We’re a team made up of three teams, we have three U16 players, a combination of U17 and U18, and a lot of the guys are playing against kids two, three years older than them.
“Which is great because everyone acquitted themselves. It was pretty awesome.”
Okotoks put up a dominant 4-0 record in the round-robin format, outscoring its opposition by a 19-4 margin.
United opened the competition with a 4-1 triumph over Edmonton’s RASC U18 – the eventual silver medallists. Game two saw the hometown club eclipse West Hills United by a 5-2 count followed by a 7-1 romp over RASC’s U17 outfit.
Okotoks had already sewn up the gold medal prior to kick-off in its fourth and final match.
For good measure, United went ahead and dispatched Calglen by a 3-1 count on the strength of three second-half tallies.
“It’s a team game for me, I’m very fortunate that I’ve got three lines of players and each kid is phenomenal,” Marsh said. “We had great performances from one of our youngsters, Alex Ede, who plays in the defence, he’s only a U16 kid. Oli Marsh in the midfield again chipped in and he’s probably our top scorer this season and our captain Mark Eadie put in solid performances.”
The final weekend of the three-week Communities Cup featured 54 teams and 834 players.
The event occurred during a busy stretch for student athletes across the province.
“It’s the hard work the guys put in,” Marsh said. “We train a couple of times a week, we expect a lot from the guys so that played well for us.
“It has been a difficult week. The guys have a lot exams and a lot of schoolwork this week so to train twice, play two league games and play this weekend it just shows the commitment the kids and the families have put in.”
Earlier in the day Okotoks claimed its first medal in the U14 Tier I ranks.
United claimed a 2-1 record through round-robin with wins over the Rangers FC and Foothills Prospects to advance to the final, dropping the gold medal game by a 4-1 score to the high-powered EMFC.
Okotoks finished just outside the medals in fourth place in the U11 Tier I division, were fifth place finishers in U12 Tier III and claimed sixth in U16 Tier III.
For more information go to okotoksunitedsoccer.ca
