Blizzard Atletico Tier 1 Boys U12 wrapped up their impressive indoor season in style by winning Gold in the Provincial Championships in Calgary, 18 and 19 March.

They opened with a solid performance against Celtic Azurri and from back to front, every player supported each other in a great team display. Pass and movement, great determination to win every ball and clinical goal-scoring set up a well deserved 2-0 win. Goalscorers were Alex and Adam.

The second game against Edmonton KC Trojans was a tense nail-biter, in which the Atletico’s showed tremendous team spirit by coming from 1-3 behind to send the game into a penalty shootout. With the penalty shots tied at 3-3 and one penalty taker left on either side, the next Trojan player moved forward. He struck his penalty well, but Atletico keeper Devon blocked the shot with an outstanding save, and the Atletico fans and the bench could sense that victory was within their grasp. The crowd then hushed whilst Justin G addressed the ball, took a deep breath, and sent the Trojan keeper the wrong way to score the winning goal and send the Atletico's into the Gold medal game. The Atletico players streamed onto the field to congratulate Justin and Devon, and the crowd could finally breathe again after what was an exciting, nerve-wracking game.

The Gold medal game against Lethbridge Cosmos 93 saw the Atletico's at their very best. Great mental preparation and a solid game plan sent the Atletico's out onto the field in determined mood. Right from the opening whistle, the Blizzards' passing game was in effect and the movement and passing was first class. However, despite dominating the first half, Lethbridge scored against the run of play to lead at the half  0-1. Midway through the second half, the Lethbridge team was running out of steam as the Atletico's passing game was giving them the run around. Justin G then took advantage of a break away and finished superbly to tie the game at 1-1. Atletico were in the ascendancy and were dominating all of the play. The crowd went wild when a well-struck shot from Jeremy P was deflected just above the goal and Adam H was alert enough to pounce on the rebound and headed the ball powerfully into the net. The Blizzards comfortably controlled the remainder of the game and deservedly collected their gold medals and Provincial trophy.

Season’s honours:

Tier 1 Gold Provincial Championship

Tier 1 Gold Edmonton Slush Cup

Tier 1 Gold CMSA Xmas tournament

Tier 1 Silver CMSA League play.

Congratulations to all players, coaches, team manager and parents, as this season’s successes were made possible through collective team spirit.