The Spartans' solid 7-3 victory against Kensington Little Mountain (KLM) provided yet another reason for Lower Mainland rep soccer teams to be regularly accused of having a bias against the clearly competitive Sunshine Coast.
The match was a battle of pure delight for the Spartans, players and fans alike. Forwards Caleb Burnham and Garreth Hodges set the tone seconds after the opening whistle with two quick goals apiece. Not to be outdone, Jordon Hoy brought his brawn to the pitch with three goals later in the game.
All this scoring would not have been possible had it not been for the combined disciplined determination of Spartan forwards and midfielders Gage Selmes, Simon Gaiga, Wei Lau, Josh Diamond and Austin Perry. Wei Chu, Miles Lavigne and Alex Monkman took huge offensive strides and did a splendid job at driving the ball hard up-wing to their lurking strikers.
Defensively, the Spartans appetite for reciprocal jostling was maintained in spades with Haden Bush and Felix Rankin and Mark Lasser galvanizing the resolve of their fearless goaltender Jordan Wilson with their shoulder-to-shoulder strategy to play hard for possession.
With three goals scored towards the later part of the second half, KLM began to build a head of steam, but by then, the die was cast and the Spartans well-trained squad held the upper hand.
U13 boys
Sunshine Coast United continued its unbeaten season, beating Grandview 3-2 in the first round of the Commonwealth Cup on Saturday. The U13 boys' rep team was pushed hard by the Lower Mainland visitors. In fact, every meeting between the two sides in league play has resulted in a tie over the last two seasons. Not this time! Goals by Will Johnston and Joel Dykstra were the difference as coach Darren Smith's boys held their discipline and shape to hold on for the victory.
United resumes league play this Saturday versus the Dunbar Scorpions at Point Grey in Vancouver.
U15 Predators
The U15 Boys Predators took on the Marpole Wolves in the first round of the League Cup last Saturday. Marpole opened the scoring after three minutes when a rising shot went in off the crossbar and past keeper Andrew Strom. The Predators took over the match and easily disposed the undermanned Wolves. Elliot Cayer and Elvis Lu scored hat tricks while Matthew Brenholen, Jake Gjerdalen on a fancy spin move, Lee Gye and Andrew scored singles. Jack Davies assisted on a number of goals and played his best game of the season in the Predators 10-1 victory.
Scorpions U11
The Scorpions played a fearsome game against NVL United last Saturday in North Vancouver. Seconds into the game, the first goal was scored by Scorpions' Quintin Towert, with NVL United pile-driving him into the net. The second goal was a hard shot by Grayson Perrier, assisted by Liam Rankin with a beautiful cross. Phillip Fogarty's impressive ball grabbing skills and Cole Schutz's hustling in midfield, along with the combined force of Everett August and Justin Fodchuk on forward, kept NVL on their toes. Tristan Tidder's hard defensive shots up field helped keep the ball in NVL territory. Jordan Kammerle made more than a few great saves in net, letting only one goal through. The Scorpions fought hard and looked strong, with good runs and passing up and down the field during the first half.
During the second half, NVL stepped up the pressure, and despite Bradley Huddlestone's outstanding defence and Kai Moore and Caio Machado's great passes to midfielder Eden Klinger, the sting had gone out of the Scorpions' game. In the end, it was a 4-2 loss for the Scorpions. Better luck next time, guys!
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