Blyth Brussels U13 Crusaders capture WOAA title

BY DENNY SCOTT

After finishing just north of the middle of the West Division of the Western Ontario Athletic Association (WOAA) U13 MH-LL division, the Blyth Brussels Crusaders went on to claim the association’s silver championship last week.

The Crusaders finished the season with a record of 6-4 for 12 points, and a 0.6 win percentage, but that wouldn’t stop them from claiming the silver final for the playoffs with a pair of wins over the Owen Sound Red team. 

The team posted an impressive six wins, one loss and one tie in the silver south round-robin playoffs, finishing first in the division, before heading onto the finals against the Owen Sound Junior Attack Red, who had claimed the silver north division.

While the Junior Attack struck first, claiming a 3-2 victory over the Crusaders in Blyth on March 23, the Crusaders posted back-to-back wins to claim the championship. On March 24, the Crusaders edged out the Junior Attack 4-3 in Owen Sound, followed by a convincing 4-0 win against Owen Sound in Blyth on March 29.

Coach Rob Mason said that, while the squad was in “the middle of the pack” for the shortened season, the squad came together to post some big wins in the round-robin for the silver south division.
“Overall we had a great season with a good bunch of kids that worked very hard to end up on top,” he said. 

The team also competed in the Blue and Gold tournament in Bradford over the weekend, working its way to the finals against the North Middlesex Stars, but ending up on the wrong side of a 4-0 decision. The Crusaders bested South Muskoka Chrysler (4-2), the Oakville Riptides (9-1), the Oakville Wolfpack (6-1) and the Coldwater Wildcats (3-1) to make the finals.