By John DeCoste
The Northeast Kings Titans brought home silver medals from the NSSAF D-2 girls’ soccer provincials Nov. 2-3 in Upper Sackville.
NKEC advanced to the gold medal game with a 2-1 semifinal win Nov. 2 over Northumberland on penalty kicks. Christina Visentin scored for the Titans in regulation time, and Dominique Foote had the shootout winner.
Millwood edged Central Kings 3-2 in overtime in the other semifinal, setting up a Millwood-NKEC gold medal match in which the Knights prevailed by a 3-2 score, netting the winner on a ‘dot shot’ with eight minutes left in the second half.
Visentin had both NKEC goals in the final, giving her three for the tournament.
In the bronze medal game, Central Kings edged Northumberland 2-1 on goals by Emily Nickerson and Brianna Dolan. It marked the fifth straight year the Gators had won a medal at the girls’ provincials; CK had won each of the four previous years.
NKEC head coach Dale Sanford termed the tournament “a great experience. All four games were won by one goal, and any of the four teams could have won.”
Sanford suggested this year’s NKEC squad, which included nine graduating seniors, “had a lot of character. This was our 11th provincial medal in 12 years, which is something I’m really proud of.”
Central Kings hosted the D-2 boys’ soccer provincials in Cambridge, with Millwood, Northumberland and Hants East joining the host Gators in the field.
In semifinal action Friday, Hants East edged Central Kings 3-2 and Northumberland nipped Millwood by the same score. In the bronze medal match Nov. 3, Millwood edged Central Kings 4-3 on penalty kicks.
Hants East and Northumberland then met in the gold medal final, with Hants East prevailing 1-0 in a match that also took penalty kicks to decide.
The other Kings County squad to compete at provincials was the Horton girls, who joined Riverview, Citadel and host Halifax West at the D-1 girls’ provincials played on the Mainland Commons in Halifax.
In semifinal action, Horton was blanked 5-0 by Halifax West, while Citadel prevailed over Riverview by a 2-0 score.
Riverview edged Horton 2-1 in the bronze medal match, while Halifax West edged Citadel 1-0 to claim the gold medal and the provincial banner.
