Saturday was a good day for Vanier soccer as both their girls and boys squads secured spots at the SHSAA provincial championships thanks to second place finishes at regionals.

The Vanier Spirits will get the chance to serve as hosts for the 2A girls provincial championship after they finished second at regionals here in Moose Jaw on Saturday.

“I’m pretty excited for it in my grade 12 year, it’s something you always strive for and to get to do it on your home turf is pretty exciting,” said Olivia Moyse with the Spirits after they lost 4-1 to the Saskatoon Bishop Mahoney Saints on Saturday afternoon.

The Saints are a strong team, but Moyse felt they put up a good fight in a game that only counted for classification purposes with both teams advancing to provincials.

“Against a team of that calibre, we did pretty good for our skill set, we battled hard,” said Moyse.

Vanier scored a hard fought 1-0 win over the Central Cyclones in the semifinal on Saturday morning to lock-up their spot at hosts at provincials.

“They’re always a challenge for us, it’s always a good win when you beat Central,” said Moyse.

The Spirits will now host the Saints, Yorkton Sacred Heart and Regina Luther for provincials starting on Friday at Sunningdale Field.

Moyse said they’re looking forward to going for a provincial title on their home field.

“We’ve just got to keep our spirits up, we’ve got to be aggressive and good will come to us,” she said.

Peacock lost out in the quarterfinals at regionals, falling 3-1 to Se Se Wa Hum on Friday morning, while Vanier knocked off Meadow Lake 6-0 and Central beat North Battleford John Paul II, 4-0, to advance into the semifinals.

The Vanier Vikings attended the 1A boys regionals in North Battleford on Saturday and came away with a provincial berth after falling 3-2 in overtime to Herbert in the championship game.

The Vikings scored a big 3-2 comeback win over top seed LCBI/Outlook in the semifinals on Saturday morning, which clinched their spot in provincials.

“We played our two best games of the season,” said Vanier head coach Jaysen Tomashewski.  “Communication, ball control and teamwork were all better than they’ve been all season.  It’s a very good time for us to be peaking.”

Vanier will travel to Middle Lake for the 1A boys provincial championship this weekend.  They face second seed Lake Lenore in the quarterfinals on Friday morning at 11 a.m.

At the 2A boys regionals in Wilcox, the Peacock Tornadoes lost 3-0 to the host Notre Dame Hounds, while the Central Cyclones dropped a 3-2 game to Humboldt in the semifinals to end their seasons.

Click here for the full provincial schedules.