WESTLOCK — The Westlock Rock U17 lacrosse team finished strong and played their way to a bronze medal, after downing the Sylvan Lake Buccaneers 6-3 at the provincial championships in Red Deer and Sylvan Lake July 12-14.
“It was great to see this group win the bronze,” said head coach Josh Booth. “We wanted everyone to be focused for the game … we played a really good game and everyone wanted more after losing out in the semi-finals,” he added. “The team came to play, we lead early and got some goals which made a difference.”
Each team played two round robin games, with three teams in each pool, noted Booth, pointing out several factors that helped the team earn the bronze including their play and determination right from game one.
“The boys were ready to go. It definitely was a big game,” said Booth, noting a close 8-7 victory in game one over the Sylvan Lake Buccaneers. “They played really strong, we didn’t give up and we gave a full 60 minutes.”
The Rock faced a couple of tough opponents first in game two against the Lakeland Heat, losing 8-4, and then in the semi-final against the Lethbridge Cudas, losing 11-8, which put them into the bronze medal game on July 14.
Booth highlighted his team’s play throughout the regular season and league playoffs, which included winning the Greater Edmonton Lacrosse Council (GELC) league title earlier in the season.
“They definitely had to fight through a lot of adversity. The big thing about playing this whole year has been their mentality. As a coach I’ve noticed it every game,” said Booth, noting their perseverance throughout playoffs and their strong mentality that carried over into provincials and the bronze medal game.
“Defensively we played strong, offensively, we took risks and it worked."
