For the second weekend in a row St. Albert and the Druids of Strathcona will butt heads in men’s second division rugby. Today’s kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Ellerslie Rugby Park.
Last Saturday in St. Albert the home team rallied in the second half to win 23-18 after letting in three early tries to trail by 15 at halftime. It marked the second straight come-from-behind victory by the seconds after three losses. In their 23-21 thriller June 5 against the visiting Fort McMurray Knights (3-1), standoff Frank Lucas kicked the winning points on the last play to win the game.
In the Edmonton Rugby Union standings, St. Albert (2-3) ranks fifth and is five points out of first place. The Druids are last (1-4) in seventh spot.
The midget AAA St. Albert Cardinals host Calgary in Sunday’s doubleheader at Legion Memorial Park. Game times are 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
In the performance division the Cardinals are 4-10 after Tuesday’s 3-1 win over SEEBA 2 (5-8) at Goldstick Park. McLean Cruthers twirled a five-hitter over seven innings. The right-hander struck out seven, walked three and hit one batter. He also drove in a run.
Scott Peterson batted 3-for-3 with two singles and one double. He scored twice and Jarret Klim added the other run. Levi Dick and Nathan Coffin also doubled during an eight-hit St. Albert attack.
Tonight at 7 p.m. the Cardinals play Foothills Black (12-1) at Okotoks.
Chester City takes its five-game winning streak into Sunday’s tilt with Strike Force in the St. Albert Men’s Soccer League. Kickoff is 3 p.m. at Riel Park.
Last weekend Chester improved its record to 5-0 with a 5-1 decision against last-place SA City (0-4-1). SA United (4-1) also handed Strike Force (4-1) its first loss of the season by a score of 3-1.
Chester marksmen Matt Starcheski, Abe Hasanaj, Ryan Prodrutti and Trent Hillman have combined to score 23 of the team’s league-high 33 goals. Starcheski leads the Golden Boot scoring race with 10 tallies. Hasanaj is tied for second overall with Gaige Steinke of SA United, each with six apiece.
Alfonso Vasquez, Manuel Zarate and Victor Buitro are the top scorers for Strike Force, last year’s division two playoff finalists. Vasquez is the team leader with five.
In major league men’s soccer Sunday, the St. Albert Impact masters (1-2-1) and Karpaty (1-3) hook up at 6 p.m. at the Scottish Soccer Club.
After suffering losses of 6-0 against the first-place Victoria Masters (4-0-1) and 2-1 against the third-place Caledonia Thistle (3-1), the Impact played the second-place Scottish Masters (3-0-1) Friday at Riel Park but the score was unavailable at press time.
James Johnson was the Impact’s leading scorer with three goals.
