The Bluefield Bobcats repeated as P.E.I. School Athletic Association Senior AAA Girls Soccer League champions on Oct. 26. The Bobcats defeated the Three Oaks Axewomen 1-0 in the gold-medal game, played at the Terry Fox Sports Complex in Cornwall. Members of the Bobcats are, front row, from left: Saidbh Mahar, Allie Bowers, Lily Sanderson, Janie Reardon, Lila Arsenault, Miley Stevenson, Noleigh McCourt and Kali MacNeill. Back row: Andrew Reardon (head coach), Mylah Campbell, Maëlie Daigle, Ava Tremere, Kelsey Adams, Olivia MacDougall, Josie MacLean, Sophie LeClair, Ashlyn Monaghan, Claire Connolly, Aleah Craswell and Randy Reardon (assistant coach). – Contributed
CORNWALL, P.E.I. — The Bluefield senior AAA soccer teams capped a big week for the Hampshire, P.E.I.-based high school.
After the Bluefield senior boys’ baseball team repeated as P.E.I. School Athletic Association (PEISAA) champions on Oct. 23, the Bobcats swept the PEISAA senior AAA soccer titles at the Terry Fox Sports Complex in Cornwall on Oct. 26.
The Bluefield girls got by the Three Oaks Axewomen 1-0 while the Bobcats topped the defending champion Colonel Gray Colonels 3-1 in the boys’ final.
“We had not won a championship since 2011 and then to go back-to-back is special,” said Andrew Reardon, head coach of the Bluefield girls. “It is always nice to send the senior class out with a win in their final games.”
“We had not won a championship since 2011 and then to go back-to-back is special. It is always nice to send the senior class out with a win in their final games.” – Andrew Reardon
In the case of the Bluefield boys, the team was motivated to win the school’s first provincial senior AAA title since October 2019.
“We had been building up the past couple of years where we had really solid teams and just had a bad break here and there in the semifinals, where we didn’t get to the final,” said Ryan Laughlin, head coach of the Bluefield boys. “We had a good core of Grade 12 players coming in that understood that, and wanted to take the advantage of being in that final.”
Girls
The Bluefield girls certainly did not have an easy road as the No. 4 seed in the playoffs. The Bobcats edged Colonel Gray 1-0 in a quarter-final game and then upset the top-seeded Charlottetown Rural Raiders by an identical score on the road in a semifinal contest.
Against third-seeded Three Oaks, Lyla Arsenault scored what proved to be the winning goal at the 19-minute mark in the evenly played final. Josie MacLean made the goal stand up by recording a clean sheet.
“We were not going to take Three Oaks for granted and not underestimate them,” said Reardon. “We knew we had to go in, play hard and play our game plan.
“They did that right to the end and they were a great group of girls to coach. They did their jobs when they needed to and pulled out the win.”
“We were a relatively younger team; not as experienced as a couple of the other teams. But the girls pulled together and played great soccer as a team.” – Andrew Reardon
The Bobcats graduated nine players from last year’s championship team and had six seniors on the 2024 squad.
“We were a relatively younger team; not as experienced as a couple of the other teams,” said Reardon, who coached the team with his brother, Randy Reardon. “But the girls pulled together and played great soccer as a team.
“Randy and I are proud of the girls and they played amazing all year. They probably exceeded a lot of people’s expectations as far as going into the playoffs as the fourth seed.”
Boys
The boys’ final featured top-seeded Bluefield and No. 2 seed Colonel Gray. The teams were separated by only one point.
“It was a unique situation where we had not had the opportunity to play Colonel Gray because their team was away for club nationals,” said Laughlin. “We didn’t play each other in the regular season, so it was one of those situations where we hadn’t faced each and we were going in hearing things here and there but not really knowing each other very well.
“The year before when we played the conditions were so bad you could not equate what the skill level of each team was because it was just that type of game.”
The Bluefield Bobcats defeated the Colonel Gray Colonels 3-1 in the gold-medal game of the P.E.I. School Athletic Association Senior AAA Boys Soccer League, played at the Terry Fox Sports Complex in Cornwall, on Oct. 26. Bluefield team members are, front row, from left: Isaac Taweel, Mohammad Aboukar, Jonathan Kent, Connor Robertson, Harrison Munro, James Toombs, Luca Harding, Seav Tong and Johnny Mahar. Back row: Evan Weeks, Dustin Thompson, Henry Gatha-Beer, Angus MacDonald, Alex Trivers, Hudson Haltli, Owen Arsenault, Ethan Grant, Locklin Dykstra, Noah Norton, Parker Munro, Bryce Dykstra and Ryan Laughlin (head coach). – Contributed
James Toombs scored in the first half to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead at halftime. Toombs, with his second of the game, made it 2-0 in the 58th minute and a goal by Jonathan Kent increased Bluefield’s lead to 3-0 in the 77th minute.
Seth Lawless scored for the Colonels with five minutes remaining.
The winning keeper was Owen Arsenault.
“We had, I would say, one of the more complete teams I have coached over my years in Bluefield,” said Laughlin. “From our keeper being a Grade 10 player right up through to our back line, which has been the strongest back line I have been a part of.
“Our players and I came in really confident with our system, how we played and understood our strengths and how we could play to them.”
Bronze medals
PEISAA senior AAA soccer bronze-medal game results:
COXHEATH — The Riverview Ravens will look to bring a provincial championship across the Canso Causeway this weekend.
The Coxheath school will be the lone Cape Breton representative at the School Sport Nova Scotia junior varsity girls’ soccer provincials, hosted by Citadel High School at Mainland Commons in Halifax.
Riverview will open the two-day, four-team tournament on Friday at 5:30 p.m. when they play the Wolfville-based Horton Griffins. The winner will advance to the provincial final on Saturday at 12 p.m.
The bronze medal game will be played on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Are you an Elementary or High School Teacher who is coaching your school team this year? Or a teacher planning to go curling with your students during Phys. Ed class?
This coming Tuesday, join Curling Canada’s Dana Ferguson and Dustin Mikush to learn more about how to build a fun on-ice age and stage-appropriate program. Coaching tips and resources will also be shared, along with time to answer YOUR questions!
PEISAA 2024 Pre-Novice to Intermediate Cross Country Championships
GOLD
SILVER
BRONZE
Pre-Novice Girls Individual
Ivy Kennedy, Spring Park
Maddie Haggis, Stratford
Sarah Gosbee, Eliot River
Pre-Novice Girls Team
Stratford Elementary
Pre-Novice Boys Individual
Ben Howard, Bloomfield
William Jameson, École François-Buote
Huxley Lauchlan, L M Montgomery
Pre-Novice Boys Team
Stratford Elementary
Novice Girls Individual
Addison MacAdam, Eliot River
Elliet Williams, Stratford
Stella Brioux, Elit River
Novice Girls Team
Eliot River Elementary
Novice Boys Individual
Laurent Bader, West Kent
Jack Ghiz, West Kent
Edwin Niveau, West Kent
Novice Boys Team
West Kent Elementary
Bantam Girls Individual
Soraya Player, Stonepark
Raya McGuirk, Birchwood
Ellie MacPhee, Montague
Bantam Girls Team
Birchwood Intermediate School
Bantam Boys Individual
Emereux Froese, Home Schooled
Cooper Jones, Stonepark
Liam Reeves, Kensington
Bantam Boys Team
Hernewood Intermediate School
Intermediate Girls Individual
Darcie Flick, East Wiltshire
Zaevn Froese, Home Schooled
Brooklynn Clark, Gulf Shore
Intermediate Girls Team
East Wiltshire Intermediate
Intermediate Boys Individual
Henri Bader, Queen Charlotte
Ben Harris, Hernewood
Thomas Morgan, Hernewood
Intermediate Boys Team
Hernewood Intermediate School
Full results, and more photo’s, can be found on the PEISAA Facebook page
Stratford Elementary
Stratford Elementary
Eliot River Elementary
West Kent Elementary
Birchwood Intermediate School
Hernewood Intermediate School
East Wiltshire Intermediate
Hernewood Intermediate School
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More than 900 student-athletes registered to run in PEISAA cross-country championships
The 2024 P.E.I. School Athletic Association (PEISAA) Source for Sports provincial cross-country championships takes place at Mill River Park on Oct. 19.
More than 60 schools are expected to participate in one of the largest PEISAA provincial championships on the SAA calendar.
“We estimate that close to 4,000 students have been running at their own schools since the start of September for a chance to represent their school at this prestigious SAA sporting event,” said PEISAA cross-country commissioner Paul Goguen. “What a great way to start off the new school year.”
Close to 920 runners are registered to run the Mill River course, and another 135 ran the Charlottetown Rural juvenile and senior courses on Oct. 15.
“The sport of cross-country in our schools is always a very popular sport,” said Goguen. “Kids just like to run and when you add a little competitiveness in the mixture, they get motivated very quickly. Anybody can try out and it does not cost anything at all, just get out there and run.”
There will be three different competitive and demanding courses offered at Mill River – 1.5 km for pre-novice, 2 km for novice and 3 km for bantam and intermediate runners.
Mike Connolly, school sport co-ordinator for the PEISAA, said October is always a busy and exciting time of the year.
“The fall sports like volleyball, soccer, golf and field hockey, caters to the older students, but cross-country adds a very large population of our younger students,” said Connolly. “Cross-country is unique in that it has both a team and individual format and allows for large participation.
“There is no other sport on the school calendar that allows for such big participation numbers. You see every level out here and the kids love representing their school.”
Championship schedule
Schedule for PEISAA cross-country championships Oct. 19:
