The St. Albert Impact division one men’s teams in the Edmonton District Soccer Association have one week left in league play to solidify their spots in the tier II provincial playdowns.
The top two teams in divisions 1A and 1B qualify for the Aug. 18 semifinals. On Aug. 18 the division leaders hook up at the ESA Complex and the second-place finishers play at Confederation Park. Game times are 6:30 p.m. The winner of the first-place match advances to provincials as the first Edmonton rep. The loser will play the winner from the second-place playoff on Aug. 22 to determine the last provincial rep.
In league play tonight, second-place Impact 1 (8-2-3) and the first-place Ital-Canadians (11-0-1) hook up at 7 p.m. at the ESA Complex to close out the division 1B schedule. In division 1A, second-place Impact 2 (6-1-5) and the Serbian Eagles (3-8-1) play at Riel Park. Kickoff times are 7 p.m.
The regular season wraps up Sunday for Impact 2 against AC Milan (4-5-3) at 5 p.m. at Riel Park.
Cohen Cassidy of Impact 2 is second in goals scored in division 1A with 12. Scott DeJong ranks second on the team in goals with five.
In the division 1B scoring race, Daniel Pilon is the leader with 13 goals for Impact 1. Shaun Kelly posted 10 goals and Marcello Cimino and Andrew Moore have seven apiece.
The rematch of the 2009 Alberta Cup provincial final between St. Albert and the Calgary Hornets will heat up the pitch Saturday. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. at the Calgary Irish rugby club.
Both teams are 8-1, with St. Albert trailing the Hornets by three bonus points in the first division pennant race with three games remaining before the playoffs start in September. The final is Sept. 25 at Calgary Rugby Park.
St. Albert is coming off a 97-0 annihilation of the winless Calgary Saracens last weekend in Calgary. The most lopsided score of the season extended the team’s winning streak to seven games.
St. Albert is gunning for its third straight trip to the final as the division pennant winners. Last year St. Albert was undefeated in 13 games, when the Hornets knocked off the 2008 provincial finalists 24-22 for the playoff crown.
Meanwhile, the Hornets will be missing at least four starters and St. Albert will be without flanker Kyle Gilmour, the team’s MVP in 2008 and the 2009 Edmonton Rugby Union’s senior player of the year, because of commitments with the Prairie Wolf Pack in the Americas Rugby Championship. The Wolf Pack, a prairies region team, tackles the B.C. Bears at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Calgary Rugby Park. St. Albert prop Graham Noren was the last player cut to determine the Wolf Pack’s 22-man roster. Scrum-half Jake Robinson and eight-man Brett Kelly were unavailable for the final selection camp and will not play. However, the St. Albert trio will be in the starting 15 against the Hornets.
