The SDSSAA Soccer Semi-Finals are now finalized for three of the five divisions of play following a busy eight-game slate that monopolized the James Jerome Sports Complex turf field for 12 hours on Tuesday.
The upcoming matchup with the Lo-Ellen Park Knights next Monday afternoon will not be an easy one for the Lockerby Vikings - but in many ways, the tough sledding is behind them.
Xavio Cootes headed home a bounding pass from teammate Xander Millett and the opening half and a solid back-line provided ample support for Vikings keeper Kaiden Timony to do the rest as Lockerby blanked the Bishop Carter Gators 1-0 in junior boys action.
With the win, Lockerby moves on to play again at home on May 29th - regardless of how they fare opposite the unbeaten Knights earlier in the week.
"There was a lot of pressure with this game," explained Timony. "This was for (a berth at) NOSSA. It was an elimination game, so everything mattered."
That said, the Vikings did a nice job of controlling play through much of the opening half, most certainly enjoying the better of the scoring chances - a statement which was not nearly as resounding in the final 25 minutes of play.
"I think we took our foot off the gas, a little," said Timony, a 15 year-old grade 9 keeper who has played with Sudburnia Soccer all of his life and still looked very much at ease navigating his way around the box on a pitch that he does not see very often.
"We took the lead and didn't want to lose it, so I think the nerves kicked in; but we managed to come through and win the game."
In the remaining junior boys quarter-final, Christopher Folino scored a pair of goals in the opening half and Adrian Courtney added an insurance marker in the second, lifting the St Benedict Bears to a 3-0 win over the Lasalle Lancers and a semi-final date with the St Charles College Cardinals.
By comparison to the Lockerby juniors, the Horizon Aigles varsity girls team cut things far closer in their 1-0 quarter-final victory, with Makenna Messier finding the back of the net with just minutes remaining as the Val Caron crew eliminated the Macdonald-Cartier Panthères.
"I had to get to an open spot and I had to shoot from far because I couldn't get past ten girls in the box," said Messier, acknowledging the defense-first strategy that ESMC was utilizing in the final few minutes of play.
"They hung back a lot - but when I found the spot, I took the shot," added Messier. Registered the clean sheet for Horizon was keeper Anika Rhéaume.
The Aigles advance to play the St Charles College Cardinals in one semi-final while the Lo-Ellen Park Knights will face the Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes in the remaining affair after CND blanked the Bishop Carter Gators 1-0 in the last of the eight-game set.
Hensley Ricketts struck for the game's only goal while Abigail Lanthier turned everything aside in net for the Alouettes.
All eight playoff teams were in action in the SDSSAA Premier Boys encounters, with two teams winning comfortably while another two just squeezed by.
Ironically, it was the two division number one seeds which came closest to being upset, despite drawing the number four team in the opposing bracket.
The Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes (1A) racked up three goals as Lukas Morin, Dominique Soro and Warren Ngouani all found the back of the net - but needed every last tally, slipping past the Conderation Chargers 3-2, with King David Igiehon and Domadius Aziz hitting the mark in a losing cause.
Connor Nicholson netted the only goal for the unbeaten St Benedict Bears (1B) but keeper Noah Palladino and his mates made that stand in a 1-0 triumph over the Horizon Aigles (4A).
Luca Cucullo, Josh Reich and Mishal Olanrewaju all hit the scoresheet for Lo-Ellen as the Senior Knights cruised to a 3-0 win over the Macdonald-Cartier Panthères while the Lockerby Vikings exploded with a four-score (Ryder Coe-2; Abdul Mohammed; Matteo Ceccon), bouncing the Lasalle Lancers 4-1 (Rashaun Asare-Corbiere).
