The U16 Boys' Strikers played a tournament in North Delta over the Thanksgiving weekend and came away with a bronze medal.
Rain made the Delta fields a mud bath. The first game saw Skyler Lagace and Eric Lehman score as the Renegades won 3-2. The winning goal came after goalkeeper Liam Wong was stuck in the mud and could not move to the ball.
The second game saw conditions worsen, but the locals gave Surrey United Predators a pasting. A defender deflected Jeremy Izad's cross for the first goal. Brandon Elsdon cracked one from 20 yards for number two. Surrey came back to narrow the margin, and Jeremy set up Russell Thornsteinson for number three. Trevor Hatful waltzed through the defense and beat the goalie for number four. Trevor then first-timed a ball from 25 yards for number five. Strikers 5-1.
Sunday morning, with conditions still worsening, the Strikers faced North Delta Royals in a tough game. The Royals received several yellow cards for fouls and verbal abuse of the referee. Brandon Elsdon set up Russell Thornsteinson for the first goal.
The second half saw the heated atmosphere continue. Royals' goalkeeper and Jeremy Izad both were yellow carded for a tense verbal exchange. However, Jeremy stayed focused. He made a run down the wing and passed back to centrefielder Brandon Elsdon, who one-timed a long, low 25-yard shot for the second goal. Strikers 2-0.
The Sunday afternoon game was an intense but clean contest against the Rowdies. Brandon Elsdon and Jesse Horn worked hard, consistently pushing the ball through for the forwards. Joshua Lagace slipped the ball between two defenders into the net while going down. Strikers up 1-0.
The battle continued and Russell Thornsteinson notched number two, also from a goalmouth scramble. The second half started with Strikers leading 2-1 but running out of subs. The effort continued and Russell took a through pass from Brandon Elsdon and netted his second. The Strikers, up 3-1, were finding the muddy pitch and lack of reserves wearing. The Rowdies picked up the pace and were rewarded with three goals.
Goalkeeper Liam Wong had a great second half trying valiantly to keep his team in the game. The last Rowdies goal came in the last minute and it was a heartbreaker. Rowdies 4-3.
Strikers did well to hold their own against teams that were physically bigger with goalkeepers so tall they seemed like skyscrapers (5'10" plus). Joel Heney's strong defensive play and Jesse Horn's excellent positional play made them players of the tournament for the Strikers. Skyler Lagace was brought up from the U14 team and did not embarrass himself at all.
Scouts from the Whitecaps showed lots of interest in Brandon Eldson's play. Maybe we will see Brandon joining Jeremy Izad in the Junior Whitecaps system. What a way to cap a grand tournament performance by the local lads, if that should happen.
