The Cochrane Cup took place Sept. 16 and 17, and the tournament was a huge success. The level of competition was equal all weekend and the feedback organizers Paul Tas and Oscar Pacheco received from the teams was all positive.
“There weren’t any setbacks over the course of the weekend,” Pacheco said.
“All the games were on time. For us as a club, it was successful because teams were happy how the tournament went … A lot of the new teams said it was a great tournament and that they had a lot of fun and that it was well organized.”
There was a repeat champion in the men’s open division, as a team from Calgary known as “Sweet Feet” took home their second consecutive Cochrane Cup championship after beating Banff FC, while Caledonian FC took the title in the men’s 35 and over group after defeating the Lads Club.
In the women’s side, the RDC Rec Royals needed extra time to beat the previously undefeated Panthers 1-0 to be crowned the women’s open champions. The Cochrane Rangers finished third in the division.
“I think the tournament reached a higher level of competition than years before. You can start to see the soccer level in Canada is growing,” Pacheco said.
“All the teams were very close that if you lost a game, you basically weren’t going to make the final. In both the men’s and women’s open division, there were three teams that were tied in points and the two that played (in the finals) made it due to goal differential. So it was very close and very competitive.”
The success of the tournament has Cochrane Cup organizers looking to increase the number of divisions for future tournaments.
“With so many open teams, it secures a future for the tournament. We’ve talked about bringing in some new divisions but that might be a few years down the road,” Pacheco said.
“All the teams who competed this year wanted to come back again next year, so it’s very positive for the (Cochrane) Cup moving forward.”
