St. Marys Salukis Junior girls soccer team hosted the Huron-Perth championship last Wednesday at DCVI.
Four teams competed, with Nich Seebach’s Salukis the No. 1 seed after finishing in first place with an 8-1 league record. (Their only loss was to South Huron, 2-1).
In the morning semi-finals, DCVI faced Clinton St. Anne’s in what would be a very close affair. St. Marys went up 1-0 early on a goal by forward Taegan Haynes, but their lead was quickly gone as Eagles tied the score 1-1 before the half-time break.
In the second half, Salukis found their game and dominated possession and field position. However, the game seemed destined for extra time as DCVI couldn’t find the back of the net.
That was until very late, when forward Emily Woodhouse flew down the left side and deposited a shot into the far side of the net. DCVI went up 2-1 with only a few minutes left, and then held on for a one-goal victory.
St. Mikes Warriors defeated Central Rams 1-0 in the other semi-final, with Rebecca Ropp notching the shutout.

Simpson boots winner

In the afternoon final, the Jr. Salukis lined up against St. Mikes and the championship contest also proved to be another great game—with a good-sized crowd watching.
DCVI had several early chances as Haynes, Courtney Schaefer and Brenna Atthill were all denied. However, midway through the first half, outside forward Shauna Simpson found an opening and booted a long shot which found the top left-corner of the Warriors’ net.
With the wind, Salukis continued to carry the play in the second half, forcing St. Mikes goalkeeper Ropp to make a handful of difficult stops.
A controversial call cost St. Marys an insurance goal midway through the half. Shauna Simpson scored off a cross from Woodhouse, but the officials ruled that it was a ‘hand-ball’ and waved off the goal.
At the other end, DCVI’s Kristen Schmidt made several key saves and clearances to earn the shutout.
At the final whistle, Simpson’s goal stood up as the winner as DCVI captured their second Huron-Perth championship in a row with the 1-0 win.
Coach Seebach credited “good team play” as the main reason for his team’s conference title.
“They’re a good team,” he said after the game. “They’ve been very positive all year, and they play well as a team.
“Congratulations to all team members on a great season. You represented your school and your community extremely well all year. The team would like to thank (assistant coach) Mallory Mueller for all her help; we couldn’t have done it without you,” Seebach added.
Members of the 2012 Jr. Salukis girls soccer team were: Emma Watt, Jadyn Williams, Taylor Simpson, Nicole Marriott, April Clark, Loghan Chambers, Taegan Haynes, Madeline Aarts, Shauna Simpson, Morgan Shamblaw, Kristen Schmidt, Rebecca Nagle, Courtney Schaefer, Emily Woodhouse, Megan Spence and Brenna Atthill.

Junior boys second

At St. Mikes last Wednesday, the DCVI Junior boys soccer team had to settle for H-P finalists this year after losing 3-0 to the host Warriors in the gold-medal game. Harrison Ritchie scored twice for St. Mikes.
Kirk Gregory’s Salukis won their semi-final game, 3-2 in overtime, against Listowel Lightning. St. Marys goal-scorers were Robert Fullerton, Scott Munro and Lucas Spence.
During regular-season play, Daniel Treadway led the second-place Salukis with eight goals. Fullerton added five goals and Tyler Clark four.
Note: There is no WOSSAA playoffs in Junior soccer.