BRIDGEWATER - The Cobequid Cougars hopes of a Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation Division 1 boys soccer title were dashed on Friday.
The Cougars lost 1-0 in overtime to the Halifax West Warriors in a hard-fought semifinal game.
The Warriors scored near the five-minute mark of sudden-death overtime to earn a berth in the championship match.
"The boys are obviously disappointed not to have won, but everybody realizes it was a 100 per cent team effort," said Cougars assistant coach Hans Budgey. "Everyone was pulling their weight. There was people willing to put their bodies on the line and sacrifice themselves for the team. So at the end of it, the disappointment is mixed with the knowledge we did have a good game."
Budgey said the Warriors were a very skilled team. However, the Cougars didn't sit back and let the opposition come to them, but instead pushed and created scoring chances that just didn't go their way.
"I'd say Halifax West probably had a little bit more of the ball than we did, but we certainly had some quality opportunities," he said.
Cobequid will play for the bronze medal today at 10 a.m. against Riverview. Halifax West and host Park View meet in the gold-medal game, beginning at 2 p.m. Park View edged Riverview 3-1 in the other semifinal game.
Budgey said his players are motivated to win and give the boys soccer program at CEC its first provincial medal.
"I see no reason why this team won't be coming out even harder than we did today because we have something to prove," he said.
"This is an opportunity here to make a little history for the team and build on that towards winning provincials in a future year."
