Stettler’s under-16 boys broke the ice last weekend with a silver-medal performance in the season-opening Camrose Sunbreaker soccer tournament.
Stettler lost 6-1 to Lacombe in Sunday’s gold-medal game, after posting two shutout victories Saturday — 1-0 over Rocky Mountain House and 4-0 over Sylvan Lake.
“Overall, it was a great way to start the season for this young under-16 team,” said Stettler coach Mitch Finkbiner, who has four second-year players and 13 rookies.
Scott Verhoeven scored the lone goal for Stettler, which trailed 3-0 at halftime. Rylee Jacobson was the Stettler keeper.
In Saturday’s opener, Jacobson provided solid goaltending as Stettler blanked Rocky on an early goal from Verhoeven.
Eric Pitzel tallied a pair of goals in Stettler’s win over Sylvan Lake.
Verhoeven — on a nice pass from Tanner Steinwand — and John Langford netted the other goals.
Langford and Jacobson shared that shutout, as Jacobson blocked a penalty shot in the second half.
“The second game was fast-paced,” Finkbiner said. “We were able to shut down the Sylvan Lake midfield and use the open space to our advantage.”
Verhoeven’s goal early in the first half got Stettler off on the right foot.
In league play this week, Stettler was scheduled to host Wetaskiwin on Tuesday night before meeting Rocky Mountain House on Thursday night at Lacombe.