CANMORE – Dominant on the soccer field this season, the Canmore Wolverines girls' team is ready for one last week of big games to close out the year.
Finishing at the top of the standings, the high school team plays for the Foothills league championship banner Wednesday (Oct. 12) at Millennium Field in Canmore against long-time rival, the Holy Trinity Knights.
Then the Wolverines play at Zones, Friday and Saturday (Oct. 14-15) in Okotoks to test the best in southern Alberta.
“I think our confidence level is high,” said Wolverines coach Alan Feherty. “We’ve integrated a few players that are newer to [Canmore Collegiate High School] into the team and we’ve got kids from Grade 9 to Grade 12, but I feel like our confidence is high and we’re really playing well as a team now.”
The stage is set for the big league championship showdown Wednesday with the Wolverines and Knights holding a victory against each other. The Wolverines knocking the soccer giant down a peg was the first time since at least 2016.
Although it was a savouring win, after smashing through the competition, Feherty said tasting defeat on Oct. 4 was an opportune blip in the season.
“It was actually good to have a more challenging game as sort of a character building for the team,” he said.
Two days later, the Wolverines returned to the field and made no mistake, running over the Strathmore Spartans, 6-0, in a confidence-building, fundamentals game.
All season, one major component the 2022 Wolverines have had is familiarity with on- and off-field chemistry.
The team, made up of mostly Grade 12s and Grade 9s, has played together in high school and club settings for years. In September, as members of the Canmore FC U17 girls, the team went 4-0 in a Revelstoke tournament, not allowing a single goal in 360 minutes.
“It’s been a great season and I think a lot of it has been the skilled play and also the positive, real team building,” said Feherty. “This team that has played together for a while has really gelled and integrated those other players and that’s really been positive for them as group.”
