The George McDougall Mustangs know they’ll finish no worse than second at the end of the Rocky View Sports Association boys’ soccer league’s regular season.
Midfielder Matt Wagner led the squad by scoring both goals in his team’s 2-1 victory over the rival Bert Church Chargers in Airdrie, May 19. The Mustangs (4W-1L) will finish with 12 points.
But last week’s weather forced a cancellation to the Cochrane-Springbank game and has caused havoc to the schedule. Cochrane (3W-0L-1T) can pass George Mac with a win and claim first. League semifinals were scheduled for May 24, with the gold and bronze games set for May 26, but as of press time, RVSA sports coordinator Jacquie Mirtle said she was looking at extending the season.
For updates, check www.rockyviewsports.com
With the win over Bert Church, George McDougall did at least clinch home field advantage for the semifinal, as the top two teams will host those ranked third and fourth.
“I don’t think the results that we’ve seen from Bert Church so far this season reflected how they played today,” Iain Cain, associate coach for the Mustangs. “It was a battle. Those guys came out and played really well. I think they may surprise some people in the playoffs. But our guys battled through it. The weather didn’t help, but in the end we got the win and the guys are happy. I think they’ll be ready for the playoffs, too.”
Wagner opened the scoring just under eight minutes into the game, when he kicked the ball into the goalmouth from about 25 yards out. It appeared to be a cross to a teammate, but it fooled the Charger keeper and ended up in the net.
“That was a cross; that was just a flukey goal,” he said. “It was a good boost for our team. They are a tough team with lots of speed up front and it gave us that extra motivation.”
Clayton Hardy tied the game for Bert Church in the 25th minute, when he tapped the ball in following a goalmouth scramble.
“I just kind of went down the side and wasn’t expecting anything,” Hardy said. “I saw Brandon (Ulrich) on the inside, he tried to take the shot, good effort on him and it could have easily been his goal, but I was just at the right place. It was a team effort on that one.”
Wagner scored his second of the game on a penalty kick in the 32nd minute, the eventual game-winner, to put the Mustangs up 2-1.
“It was good to have another – this time I looked right,” Wagner said, referring to his penalty kick goal in the Mustangs’ previous win over Chestermere.
“I was really pleased with the effort,” said Chargers’ head coach Barry Anderson. “It always is a lively match between Bert Church and George McDougall. These guys are friends, they know each other off the field, and some of them play on the same teams.”
Bert Church (1W-2L-2T) has five points and will likely finish fourth, but will be watching for the updated schedule closer than anyone.
“It’s going to be close, so we’re going to have to look at the website tonight and tomorrow and see where we stand,” Anderson said. “It’s going to be a real bottleneck with three, four and five to see who makes playoffs.”
