The St. Anthony’s Sabres senior girls soccer team is practising for what could potentially be a banner year.
This is the third year the school has fielded a team, and it may be its brightest. After losing only one Grade 12 player and the solid core returning, the team could go well into the playoffs this year.
“When we have this many returning, I think we have potential to win zones this year. That’s our goal,” said coach Gavin Makse.
The team has spent a lot of time on the field together as many of the players are on the community soccer team together.
This is the second season the Sabres have played in the Foothills Athletic League that includes teams from Canmore, High River, Okotoks and Strathmore. They placed fifth in the league last year.
“In our first year we just wanted to field a team and take the season as it comes. Last year it was ‘Lets get competitive, now that we’re in the league,'” said Makse. “Now this year it is their third year for the bulk of our team, we’re in Grade 12, now we are equal in terms of the age of our opponents, so we are setting our standards as high as we can.”
The team’s first game is at home on Tuesday, September 14 against Foothills Composite.
Coach Makse is hoping to put together a scrimmage with some adult players before they play Foothills, a 4A school from Okotoks.
This season the Sabres are hosting the Third Annual Sabres tournament on September 24 and 25, as well as zones on October 15 and 16. As girls' soccer is not provincially affiliated, zones are as high as playoffs go.