NACI’s boys and girls varsity soccer programs started their seasons last week with both teams traveling to Rivers for a zone game Thursday night and following that up by hosting a four-team tournament Saturday. Boys The Tigers kicked off their week with an exciting matchup in Rivers. Facing a 5-2 deficit late in the game, an energetic NACI squad was able to come back to within 5-4 in the dying minutes of the match but weren’t able to complete the comeback. Wyatt Salmon scored twice for Neepawa while Cale Lamport put away the other two in what was a great team effort all-around. Saturday morning, NACI’s tourney started against Swan River where Lamport scored to give Neepawa a 1-0 lead. The team played effectively throughout, but Swan River was able to tie the game in the last minute to send it into overtime. No one scored in the extra periods, sending the game into an exciting back-and-forth shootout that saw extra kickers needed, but it was Swan River who got the final edge to win 2-1. NACI’s second game matched them against Flin Flon where the team battled hard and created chances in a good game but ended up losing 2-0. Neepawa’s day then came to an end against Altona where the Tigers seemed to run out of steam and lost 5-0. “I was happy with the first week, and Saturday all the players worked hard on the pitch, and remained supportive and positive throughout the day,” coach Daryl Critchlow said. “I look forward to seeing the team continue to develop their skills as the season progresses.” Girls In Rivers, the Lady Tigers had to get their feet under them but started to put their imprint on the game about 20 minutes in. NACI scored first late in the opening half when exchange student Megan Poirier got on the end of a diagonal cross-in off a free kick and placed a shot behind Rivers’ keeper from 10 yards out for the goal. Rivers responded quickly though, and a minute later tied it at 1-1. Neither squad was able to find goal again and the game ended tied. Saturday, NACI started its schedule against the Swan River Tigers. Despite NACI controlling the play, Swan River was able to score twice to take a 2-0 lead into the half. NACI came out blazing in the second half and created about a half-dozen strong scoring chances, but it wasn’t until Lina Gordon crossed in a ball to exchange student Joanie LeMay who one-timed the pass for a goal, that Neepawa was able to find the board. The score ended 2-1 in Swan River’s favour. In NACI’s second game against Flin Flon, the team again had the edge in possession, and LeMay scored her second of the tournament, to give Neepawa a 1-0 win. Keli Turner earned the shutout behind a strong team effort defensively. The Tigers ended their day with a tough 2-0 loss to Altona. “Every girl played great throughout the week and battled on both ends of the field,” coach Kaiten Critchlow explained. “We have a couple things to work out, but its early in the season and we have a new-look team this year that’s starting to ‘click’ already, so I’m excited to see us continue to improve.”