Last weekend was the over-30 men’s soccer league tournament. After Saturday’s round robin play, the finalists that emerged were Chiefs and Sitas, while the Beer Cup was won by Halfmoon Bay, as Kenny ‘The Cannon’ Campbell and company edged Ridgepoint 2-0.
In the final, Chiefs got an early first half goal from cagey striker Kyle August, who put four behind bars over the course of the tournament. In the second half, Sitas answered with a pair from their native English footballer Neville Judd, who has played two decades in this league and supposedly has never said the word “soccer” in his life.
With the tournament win following their league win, Sitas won their first double, a major milestone for the team.
During Saturday’s round robin play, Sitas got a commanding midfield performance from 30-year-old Mihal Korlikowski. Korlikowski’s father Greg also played for Sitas. In 2001 when the senior Korlikowski was ripping nets at will, the 13-year-old Mihal would get his hair ruffled on the sidelines by Sitas’ fullbacks Martin Blackwell and Fumi Takahashi and be told “only 16 more years until you’re eligible for the 2017 draft.” This year was finally that season.
This men’s over-30 league has been around since the 1970s and has many such generational legacies. Sechelt Band members pretty much know when they are born whether in 30 years time they will be Chiefs or Wolves. Scott Johnson and his father – the late Barry Johnson, a former Whitecaps prospect – both have been Chiefs, and Scott has been heard saying he would sooner plant carrots on a Sunday morning than play for the “Coyotes.”
The league would like to thank their referees this season, and Mike Cowie for keeping the standings.
– By David Rogers
