WESTLOCK — It was an exciting finish for the U13 and U17 Westlock Rock’s post-season, as both teams won their respective division and were crowned Greater Edmonton Lacrosse Council (GELC) league champions at the end of June, winning a banner and gold medal, in exactly the same fashion and with the same score — a 5-4 overtime victory.
Both teams will now represent the GELC at the provincial championships July 12-14 in Red Deer and Sylvan Lake.
The U17’s beat the Leduc Crush in the league finals, while the U13’s downed the Sherwood Park Titans in a double knockout playoff series.
“(The U13’s) did exceptionally well. The team they beat had only lost one game all regular season (to the Rock)…and same thing in the playoffs. The only team that beat the Sherwood Park Titans was Westlock and they beat them twice to move on,” said Westlock Lacrosse Association president, Josh Reay, noting the U13’s had only lost one game in playoffs and were down 4-1 in the final game but didn’t give up. “They played hard and persevered all the way to overtime to win.”
Reay noted the regular season success for both teams, with the U13’s losing four games, while the U17’s also “played really well,” he said, noting they defeated the top U17 teams in the post-season and “went undefeated in playoffs.”
The Rock began their season in April and wrapped up regular season games in mid-June, prior to the post-season and provincial championships.
The Westlock Lacrosse Association welcomed four age groups to the Rotary Spirit Centre this season, including U7, U11, U13 and U17 teams.
“All of our teams did really well. We were short on players for a few groups so our U11, U13 and our U17 groups were all a mix of ages,” said Reay, noting the association’s inaugural Rockfest event for U11 and U13 players. “That was a big success for our club for the season.”
WIth their gold medals and banners, it is the first time a Westlock team has won a league championship since 2016, noted Reay.
The U13 and U17 teams now have their sights set on the upcoming provincial championships.
“We’ll be cheering them on,” said Reay.
