BY SCOTT
HADDOW
Living up to their name in full, the Lockerby Vikings stormed
the NOSSA senior boys' AAA championship and took the trophy by
force.
Lockerby was dominate earlier this week at Hillcrest Field in Lively, where the team beat St. Joseph-Scollard Hall of North Bay 4-1 in the NOSSA final.
The win stamped the Vikings' ticket to a second straight AAA
OFSSA championship, which takes place in Windsor and runs from
June 4 to 6.
"It's an incredible win and it means we get to go back to
OFSAA," said striker Derek Huffels, who scored twice in the
win.
"Everyone is dedicated to going far at OFSAA...we're looking to
get to the finals. It's not going to be easy and we can't take
anyone lightly. I really believe the difference in the (NOSSA)
game was that we were hungrier than the North Bay team.
Everyone came out hard, we scored some early goals and then we
just shut them down defensively."
Along with Huffels' two strikes, Cory Hamblin and goalie Dale
Pidutti, on a penalty shot, scored for Lockerby.
Last year, Lockerby made it to OFSAA and forged a decent 1-1-2
record before bowing out. This year, the team wants to write a
different story.
Veteran players such as Wilder Leduc want the provincial
gold.
"Winning NOSSA and going to OFSSA means everything to me," said
Leduc.
"Aside from school, soccer is the most important thing to me in
my life. I eat, sleep and breathe soccer. Going to provincials
is the reason we play. We've made it to the second round before
at OFSAA...I thought we had a chance to win last year but we
fell short. We want no regrets this time around. I want to go
far...really far and win the championship. It's all I've been
thinking about all season."
Head coach Paul Hatzis praised his team's efforts in the NOSSA
final.
"This was the best game, technically, we played all year," said
Hatzis.
"We prepared for that moment all season. Everything we did all
year was building towards this big game, and all the work paid
off. We came out flying and I think we caught North Bay off
guard with our speed and skill with the ball.
They're a strong, fast team, but in the end, it came down to possession of the ball. I am proud of this team because they gave up a lot all season to get the job done. They made a lot of sacrifices to make this NOSSA win a reality."
Those sacrifices really stand out about the team.
"The dedication and commitment level of everyone is great,"
said Huffels.
"Everyone always comes to practice and we practice for two
hours every day after school. It can be tough, but everyone did
it and that's the key to our success."
OFSSA is going to be a supreme test of the Vikings' character
and strength.
"To win OFSAA, we have to be focused," said Leduc.
"We have a lot of fun guys on the team and we're staying in a
hotel, so the temptation to goof off and stay up late will be
there. We have to avoid that at all costs. It will be a test of
our physical fitness. We play every day at OFSAA, sometimes two
or three games in one day. We're used to playing two games a
week. I believe we're up for the challenge. We're undefeated
this year and there's a lot of pride on this team."
Before heading off to OFSAA, the Vikings will play some
exhibition matches against local men's teams to get an
edge.
The Vikings will take their forceful play to OFSAA and try to
take gold.
"I want every team at OFSAA to know the North - Lockerby - is
coming to get them...I feel it's our year so they better watch
out."
Check out northernlife.ca for more photos of the NOSSA game. Go
to the special sections link and click on the photo
gallery.
