By Scott Roblin

RASC U18 Rattlers earn bronze, U14 team golden at provincials

Mar 20, 2018 | 6:17 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Snow is still on the ground outside, but soccer season continued over the weekend in the ‘Gas City.’

Tier II and Tier III U18 Alberta Indoor Soccer Provincials being held at the Family Leisure Centre with hundreds of strikers, midfielders, defenders, and goalies showcasing their skills.

The RASC U18 Rattlers lost out in semi-final action on Saturday, meaning they had a date with the Edmonton Xtreme (Frunza) squad for bronze Sunday.

Despite trailing 2-1 at halftime, the Rattlers exploded for four goals in the second half to edge the Xtreme 5-4 and take home a provincial medal on their home pitch.

Striker Adam Khan was a man possessed on Sunday, scoring four of the team’s five goals and said it’s a satisfying result to a tough tournament.

'An awesome, good feeling': National Volunteer Week underway in Medicine Hat

6h ago

Medicine Hat's spring Spectrum Festival returns for 2024

6h ago

'Lucky to do something I enjoyed so much': Celebrated Medicine Hat artist revisits his art

12h ago

“It’s fantastic honestly,” said Kahn. “Our first Medicine Hat tournament and it’s great to take something home for the fans, great to show some support, and show what we can do here.”

Khan added the Rattlers evolution into a provincial medal winner has been visible throughout the season.

“Overall, we’ve progressed as a team,” he said. “We’ve worked together, we’ve worked on our mistakes and our weaknesses. Together we’re strong in the end and we came away with what we deserved, I think.”

In the U18 gold medal final, Fort McMurray defeated WHU Athletics 3-2 to win the provincial banner.

As for the RASC U17 team, they were placed in the Tier III tournament and wrapped up provincials Sunday morning against Okotoks United.

The Rattlers weren’t able to contain Okotoks’ scoring touch, falling by the wayside 6-1 to finish the tournament with a 1-3 record.

Winger Dilan Stubbins was the lone goal-scorer for Medicine Hat on Sunday and said while the team didn’t take home a medal, they were fairly consistent over most of their games.

“All of the teams are so balanced, we could have went for gold,” said Stubbins. “We only lost our games by one goal, besides this one. We could have been up there.”

Playing in front of RASC supporters, Stubbins added it was a nice break from getting on the bus to compete across Alberta.

“You don’t have to go on long drives,” said Stubbins. “Every time it’s always somewhere like Edmonton, it’s nice to have it at home. We’re used to the turf and everything, it’s good.”

The Sherwood Park Saints (Walbaum) meanwhile took down the Edmonton Warriors (Sikanja) 3-1 in the Tier III final to win provincial gold.

Away from Medicine Hat, the U14 Tier II Rattlers picked up a gold medal with a 3-0 shutout win over the Blizzard Alliance in the provincial final.

Kian Simon had a pair of goals in the win, while the scoring was capped off by Kelton Flaig.