Can anyone stop the Sunshine Coast Scorpions? It doesn’t appear so.
The U13 boys’ rep soccer team clinched a berth in the Coastal Cup final in Richmond May 5 and 6 and a berth in the provincial finals in Aldergrove in July with an impressive 2-0 win over the Saanich Fusion in the Coastal Cup semifinal game on Sunday at Kinnikinnick Park in Sechelt.
The Scorpions started out the game cautiously against the unknown team from the Island. Defenders Evan Griffin, Cole Cooney and Philip Fogarty stuck to their checks and forced their opponents to turn over the ball under pressure.
Jordan Kammerle looked dangerous after a pass from Keegan Inkster, only to be thwarted by the tight Fusion defence.
The offensive spark by Jordan got the midfield motivated, and the Scorpions passing game came to life.
Everett August passed the ball to winger Ben Luporini, who then found striker Duncan Armstrong, who used his speed to charge to the net. Duncan was taken down by the Fusion defence inside the penalty box, and a penalty kick was awarded to the Scorpions with seconds left in the first half. Bradley Huddlestone took the kick and scored the first goal of the game for a 1-0 lead at the half.
In the second half, the Fusion pushed back, needing at least one goal to stay in contention for the Coastal Cup. Their persistence rarely got them by Scorpions’ defenders Gabe Goerzen and Tristan Tidder. When they did get shots, they were from the outside and were easily caught by goalkeeper Xavier Benjamin. Midfielders Finn Rogers, Justin Fodchuk, Quin Towert and Liam Rankin kept the passing game going, passing back to defenders Evan, Philip and Cole when under pressure.
Keegan and Everett got shots on net, but Bradley found the back of the net a second time, sealing the win.
— Submitted
