Close soccer loss boosts Team Sask

Disappointed with a victory? Happy with a loss?
It must be opposite-day out on Prince Edward Island.
Granted, the Saskatchewan girls soccer team wasn't jumping for joy at their 4-0 loss to Ontario at the Jeux du Canada Games Wednesday. But they were happy with their improved play compared to their 2-1 win over Yukon the day before.
"It was good. We did a lot of things well," said Moose Jaw product Jessica Meyer. "They had a lot of really nice shots which our goalie had no chance on. We played them physical, which we intended to do, and we got them off their game pretty easily."
The match completes the first round of play, with Saskatchewan finishing 1-1, good enough for second place out of three teams in Pool C behind Ontario.
Saskatchewan defeated Yukon by just a one-goal margin, while Ontario walloped them 12-0 - which explains why the team was buoyed more by a close loss to a powerhouse than a close win over a winless side.
"Yesterday was a bit rough and rocky, but today we were actually happy with how we played, despite the score," said Meyer, who had a yellow card in Wednesday's game. She laughed as she defended herself in recalling the incident.
"She was beating me and I'd had enough of her, so I took her cleats up," said the 17-year-old Vanier grad. "She had it coming."
Team Saskatchewan will move on to the quarter-finals, where they will face Alberta, the winner of Pool B, this afternoon.
The last time the two squads tangled was in June, in an exhibition match ending with a 1-0 Alberta win. But Meyer pointed out that game may not be a good indicator for this one.
"It was a complete mosh pit," she said. "It was pouring rain and nobody could play. They had one shot and it was a bad goal, and that was about it. The rest of the time we were in their half. We expect it to be pretty even, and we are hoping for a win."
A win would vault the team into the semifinals, and the Saskatchewan girls are full of optimism.
"We feel good going into it. We don't want to be cocky or anything," said Meyer. "We refuse to give anything but our best. We refuse to lose tomorrow, that's not an option for us."
More losses for girls hoops
Moose Jaw's Kehlsie Crone and her Team Saskatchewan mates couldn't manage to pull together any more wins in their girls basketball pool play.
A 70-64 loss to Manitoba was followed by an 82-75 defeat against New Brunswick, giving Saskatchewan a 1-4 record at the end of the first round. They finish fifth in Pool B - ahead of only winless Yukon - and will take on Pool A's fifth-place squad from Newfoundland and Labrador on Friday in the placing round.
Crone had seven points in the first game and eight against New Brunswick.