The Winkler Storm end their season as the runners-up for the Manitoba Major Soccer League Division 1 championship.
Winkler fell to the first-place Northern United 2-1 in the gold medal match Sunday afternoon in Winnipeg. David Green scored for the home team.
The Storm earned a seat at the table by making short work of SWB 3-1 in the quarter-finals and then battling Grant Park SC—who finished second to the Storm’s third in the regular season—to a 1-1 tie last Friday night. Janick Richter scored for Winkler, while Carter Klassen was a wall in net.
The resulting shootout broke Winkler’s way 5-4 and punched their ticket to the final.
Coach Chad Bergen reflected on the strong season.
“We started the season struggling to score goals, often losing games by a one goal margin. By August, the players had made the formation their own and goals started to come from multiple sources,” he said. “Over a span of five games in August and September, Storm conceded zero goals and scored fourteen. That turn around led us to a third-place finish in the league.
“Storm thanks the sponsors that made this season possible and the fans and family that cheered us on, rain or shine, at home and on the road.”
