Hanover U15 soccer team picks up tournament win

The Hanover Soccer Club’s U15 Premier team got a huge result at the 2025 Winnipeg Youth Soccer Association Boston Pizza Players Tournament, winning their division.

While the final had to be moved from Princess Auto Stadium due to poor air quality, Hanover was able to prevail in the final, defeating South Winnipeg 1-0 in the final.

Head coach Bjarne Weiss said the team dominated the first half, with midfielder Bjella Weiss converting in the box following nice play from Auckland Cooper to win a battle and spring Josh White up the wing.

In the second half, Hanover hung on to win, with Phillip Wiebe picking up his third consecutive clean sheet of the tournament.

It’s the first accolades for the team. The core of the team has been playing together for five seasons under Weiss.

“To finally get our hands on a trophy was a circle closing for the guys who have been there from the start,” Weiss said.

“For the new guys, it was a great introduction to the team. For the ones who have come along the way, it just shows everything we’ve been working towards in focusing on development rather than instant results does pay off.”

Bjella became only the second girl in club history to win a player of the match award in a competitive boys WYSA game, performing well in a 0-0 draw in the Hanover’s final group stage game and picking up the award for her performance in the final as well. Coach Weiss noted her creativity in attack and defensive stability throughout the tournament was spectacular.

“It takes years of building and developing,” Weiss said on the team’s victory

“The best players at (ages) 10, 11, 12 may not be the best players at 15, 16, 17… The focus of the club should be development and making sure everyone has a place to play… It showed we have opportunity for many people.”

Every kick mattered in that 0-0 draw, as the team needed a tie or win to advance to the final.

“The emotional aspect of it was important for some of (the players),” Weiss said.

“Especially in the last group game you could tell they really wanted badly to make the finals. It was almost too conservative at times in the way we played. But it was huge, it was important for team morale.”

The entire team brought their game to another level defensively throughout the tournament, conceding just a single goal in four games and picking up their first three shutouts of the season.

“If you don’t concede you’re halfway there,” Weiss said.

“Offensively could have been a bit more, but we did what we had to. We did our homework and if at the end of the day that’s the way we win, that’s the way we win. Most important it was great development because defensively we had our struggles, especially early in the year.”

It seems like the defensive momentum from the tournament win has carried over into league play, as Hanover battled to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over FC Northwest in the Steinbach Soccer Park June 7 in windy conditions.

“The aim for the season is to (finish) in the top half of the table, if things go very well maybe top three, but if we’re in the top half of the table, we’ll be happy,” Weiss said.

It will be a big next few years for Weiss as he continues his coaching journey. Already holding a Class C coaching licence in Canada, he’ll have to decide on whether to continue to advance in North America or Europe moving forward. Weiss has dual citizenship, and said he hopes to one day get a full-time position coaching soccer.

Hanover’s final home match of the season is set for June 26.