John Paul II Collegiate boys and girls soccer teams during halftime of an exhibition match to celebrate the season. (Ryan Lambert/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Ryan Lambert

Provincials

John Paul II Collegiate soccer teams medal at provincial championships

Oct 29, 2025 | 5:43 PM

The Saskatchewan High Schools Athletics Association (SHSAA) soccer provincial championships were held over the weekend. Not only did both John Paul II soccer teams qualify for the tournament, but they both came home with a medal as well.

The girls’ team came home with the bronze medal after a 4-1 win over Yorkton Sacred Heart. Crusaders head coach John Goota said this was the first time in 18 years that the girls’ team has won a medal at the provincial championships.

The bronze medal match was a bounce-back victory for the Crusaders after falling 7-1 to Regina Luther in the semifinals.

“We thought that our girls would be dejected, but they came back the next day and defeated the Saints 4-1,” said Goota.

Crusaders assistant coach Amine Khalloug highlighted their 3-2 comeback win in the regional semifinals against Martensville, saying that showed how the team can fight through adversity.

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“Against Martensville in Big River, we came (back from) 2-0, and in the second half it was 2-2 and we scored the last goal at the last minute. That was incredible,” said Khalloug.

The coaches were quick to give each other credit for the work they have done with the team, as well as Alexi Saddleback, who led the team in scoring throughout the year.

Goota mentioned that they have seven club players joining the team next year as they look to continue to improve.

(John Paul II Collegiate/Facebook)

The boys’ team left Regina with the silver medal. They beat Regina Huda 2-1 in a penalty shootout before falling 2-0 to Yorkton Sacred Heart in the finals. They had a younger team with a lot of Grade 9 and 10 players, so head coach Victor Quijada-Sawitsky was happy with the team’s effort and how they all came together throughout the season.

“It was very heartwarming to see them grow together as a team and just supporting one another. There were some students that really stepped up and cheered each other up. It’s an emotional game, but that’s part of it, which is great. That’s what I mean by growth. Everybody was a leader, and we didn’t have one single person who didn’t bring their best,” said Quijada-Sawitsky.

The coach mentioned that they have three graduating players, and the team revolving around them gave them a lot of motivation.

“We got to the moment of going to provincials then heading to the final and then the energy was, let’s represent our school and give back to our grade 12s who are graduating this year. The kids really came around in unity for that objective. It was great to see.”

Quijada-Sawitsky said that while they look to improve next year, it is very important to him to have a positive team culture which both teams had this season.

(John Paul II Collegiate/Facebook)

The teams came together to play an exhibition game against one another on Wednesday and celebrate the successful season that both teams had.

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Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com