Winning a tournament is always a good feeling, but for the St. Albert Impact 1, Sunday’s win was extra special.
The Impact 1 took top spot in the men’s competitive division of the first-ever Dieter Knobloch Memorial Adult Tournament, held over the weekend at the St. Albert Soccer Association (SASA) grounds in Riel Park.
Head coach Dave MacEachran said that, having known Knobloch for many years and given how much he had contributed to the club, the title meant that much more to him and his players.
“I’d known Dieter for 15 years, and he was a great guy,” he said. “This was actually the thing for me this year. My boys all knew him really well, so this is really good. We’re really going to treasure this one.”
Knobloch served in many capacities at the SASA, from president and facilities director to referee and coach. He passed away after a long battle with cancer on June 30, 2010.
His daughter, Marion Webb, and 14-year-old granddaughter, Marissa, were on hand on Sunday to present the Impact 1 with the championship plaque after they sealed the title with a 1-0 win over the St. Albert Impact 2.
“This is huge for my dad. I know he’d be smiling, looking down,” Webb said. “This was his life; soccer was his life. Since I was a little girl, I’ve watched my dad coach and my brother play; it’s been my whole life. He’d be very proud.”
That tradition is carrying on with Marissa, and the chance to be there to present the plaque meant a lot to both of them.
“She used to listen to her grandpa tell her how to play, what to do,” Webb said. “Our whole family is really proud. … My dad’s name will never be gone from here. It will always be here.”
Other teams in the men’s competitive division included the St. Albert Impact Rangers — a team for which Knobloch served as head coach for many years — and the Kinosoo Strikers out of Cold Lake.
The Impact Rangers and Impact 1 were tied atop the division with eight points each after the round robin, but the Impact 1 earned the tiebreaker thanks to a head-to-head win over the Impact Rangers earlier in the weekend.
In the women’s competitive/recreational division, neither the St. Albert Kickers nor the SA Force were able to advance out of their groups. The Force managed eight points out of three round robin games, finishing second to the Fort McMurray Fury in Group A. In Group B, the Kickers were in a three-way tie for second, but all were well behind Edmonton’s Rio Terrace FC.
In the men’s competitive/recreational division, two Capital region teams squared off for gold, with Red Hill FC of Edmonton beating the Ardrossan Strikers 2-1 in the cash prize final.
