The second division pennant race heats up today, when St. Albert hosts the first-place Norwesters at 2 p.m. at the Leading Edge Physiotherapy Fields.
The seconds (6-3) trail the Norwesters (7-2) by five points in the Edmonton Rugby Union. The 2010 J.W. Shaw Cup playoff finalists need to win the game, plus score four or more tries for the bonus point, in order to pull even with the division leaders.
The seconds are 6-1 in their last seven games.
The top four teams advance to the Sept. 17 playoff round.
Also in the mix to host a semifinal match is the Leduc Crude (6-4), last year’s provincial champions.
The seconds close out the league fixtures against the fourth-place Clansmen (5-4) Aug. 27 at 2 p.m. in St. Albert and Sept. 1 against the Norwesters at 7 p.m. at Ellerslie Rugby Park.
A victory Sunday by Chester City against Arsenal would clinch first place in the St. Albert Men’s Soccer League for the second year in a row.
Kickoff is 1 p.m. at Riel Park.
Chester (9-2-2) is one point ahead of GSE (9-3-1) and two in front of CSKA Blues FC (8-2-3) in the standings.
Chester is led by Matt Starcheski, the league’s most prolific scorer with 14 goals.
The top two teams also qualify for tier IV provincials, Sept. 2 to 5 in Calgary.
Last year, Chester finished first at 10-2 after going 5-4-6 in 2009.
Arsenal, the defending playoff champion, is 5-7-1. Last year, the Gunners placed fourth at 4-5-3, and in the semifinals, they shocked Chester 2-1 on penalty kicks. In the final, the Gunners blanked SA United 2-0 for their first playoff cup in team history.
Mavericks 09 and the Morinville Ladies are on a collision course in the St. Albert Women’s Soccer League.
The division one leaders are battling for top spot going into Sunday’s fixtures. At 5 p.m., the Mavericks (14-0-1) play the Fury (2-11-1) at Grosvenor field while Morinville (13-0-1) takes on Cosmos FC (5-7-2) at Forest Park field.
If both teams are victorious, first place would be on the line Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Grosvenor.
League play wraps up Aug. 28.
The pennant winner will represent the league at tier IV provincials, Sept. 2 to 5 in Calgary.
Last year, the Mavericks placed first at 17-1. At provincials, they finished fourth, the best result by a league rep since 2005, when Morinville won bronze.
Suzanne Gaetz of Morinville (90 GF/12 GA) is the division’s top goal scorer with 27. Natalie Miller of the Mavericks (100 GF/12 GA) is second with 22.
