SDGAA high school soccer playoffs set for Wednesday in Alexandria, Cornwall

GDHS senior, junior girls teams finish first in respective 'A' divisions

High school soccer’s spring season seemingly has passed in the blink of an eye, with SDGAA playoff action set for Wednesday in Alexandria and Cornwall.

The girls teams, senior and junior, from Glengarry DHS placed first in their respective ‘A’ divisions, setting up Alexandria as the host site for girls ‘A’ playoffs on May 18, at Island Park.

The senior Gaels girls ran the regular-season table unbeaten, with a record of 8 wins and 1 draw (to Holy Trinity, which finishes as the second seed on a record of 6 wins and 2 draws). Third spot was snagged by Char-Lan (5-2-2), while placing fourth was La Citadelle (5-2-1). All four of these teams will battle in the senior girls ‘A’ playoffs.

Gaels senior girls (GDHS photo)

In regular-season junior girls ‘A’ action, GDHS topped the table with 3 wins and 2 ties. Char-Lan placed second (3-1-1), with La Citadelle third (2-1-2) and Holy Trinity fourth (1-3-1). These four squads will compete in the Wednesday playoff tournament for SD&G supremacy.

Completing the final regular-season standings amongst senior teams were 5th St. Lawrence (1-8) and 6th Seaway (1-8). Tagwi’s juniors finished fifth winless in five matches to also end their season.

Here’s the schedule for girls playoff games at Island Park:

• 9 a.m.: junior semifinal featuring Glengarry and Holy Trinity on the north field

• 9 a.m.: junior semifinal, Char-Lan vs La Citadelle, south field

• 10: 30 a.m.: senior semifinal #1 featuring Glengarry vs La Citadelle

• noon: senior semifinal #2, Holy Trinity vs Char-Lan

• 1:30 p.m.: junior championship match

• 3 p.m.: senior championship game

Boys ‘A’ Division

The boys ‘A’ playoff tournament for senior and junior teams will be held at Cornwall’s La Citadelle, though it was L’Heritage that completed its regular-season play in first place (6 wins, 2 draws). Les Patriotes actually finished second (4-3-1), followed by Glengarry (3-4-1) and Char-Lan (3-4).

On the junior table, La Citadelle was first (5 wins, 2 losses). Glengarry took second spot (also 5-2), with Tagwi third (4-2-1) and Char-Lan fourth (1-6).

Crusaders junior boys (Char-Lan DHS photo)

Rounding out the senior standings were 5th St. Lawrence (2-4-2) and 6th Tagwi (1-6-1). St Lawrence was the lone junior team to miss the playoff party, finishing in fifth place (0-7).

Holy Trinity opted to play its boys teams in the ‘AA’ division.

Here’s the boys playoff schedule at La Citadelle:

• 9 a.m.: senior semifinal featuring L’Heritage and Char-Lan

• 10:30 a.m.: junior semifinal, La Citadelle vs Char-Lan

• noon: senior semifinal, La Citadelle vs Glengarry

• 1:30 p.m.: junior semifinal, Glengarry vs Tagwi

• 3 p.m.: senior championship game

• 4:30 p.m.: junior championship final

‘AA’ Divisions

St. Joseph’s, in Cornwall, will host the ‘AA’ playoff action on Wednesday. The Panthers senior boys topped their group in regular-season play with an unbeaten record of 4 wins and 4 draws. Holy Trinity was second (3-1-3), with CCVS third (2-6). In the senior girls division, St. Joseph’s was again tops (6-0-2), while the Raiders placed second (2-7). In junior boys play, the Falcons topped the table (5-0-2), followed by the Panthers (4-2-1) and the Raiders (2-5). St. Joseph’s junior girls team, which completed the season at 2-1-2, was the lone ‘AA’ team this spring and, thus, is automatically declared SD&G champion.

Here’s the ‘AA’ playoff schedule:

• 9 a.m.: junior boys semifinal, St. Joseph’s vs CCVS

• 10:30 a.m.: senior boys semifinal, Holy Trinity vs CCVS

• noon: senior girls final, St. Joseph’s vs semifinal winner

• 1:30 p.m.: junior boys final, Holy Trinity vs semifinal winner

• 3 p.m.: senior boys final, St. Joseph’s vs semifinal winner

Looking Ahead and Back

The two-week 2022 regular-season schedule was a return to normalcy for the region’s high schools which had last competed in soccer back in the pre-pandemic days of spring 2019.

At that time, GDHS won the senior boys ‘A’ title, completing a perfect season, beating North Dundas in the SD&G championship match. The Gaels were runners-up in two finals, senior girls and junior boys, as the respective squads were both beaten by La Citadelle. Tagwi claimed the junior girls crown, over La Citadelle.

So, technically, the 2019 winners are the defending champions this year.

The region saw three teams triumph at EOSSAA in 2019, with the Gaels senior boys winning their group, while Le relais took the senior girls championship, over La Citadelle, and Les Patriotes junior girls won, over Tagwi.

La Citadelle went on to claim the 2019 OFSAA championship, beating Le Relais in the final, while Glengarry’s senior boys won provincial gold in their division.

EOSSAA is also back for 2022. An upcoming post will provide the details, including news about GDHS hosting the senior boys ‘A’ tournament in Alexandria, on May 24-25.