Local Community Advertising
The U16 Boys from Kelowna United had a tournament shutout over June 26th to 28th.
The team was undefeated with three shutout games to advance to the semi-final. There, a 0-0 tie created two five-minute overtime periods, and then a shootout that the Kelowna team won thanks to keeper Liam Gallagher and shooters Taylor Piche, Oliver Perry, Connor Sandrin, and Keatin Colegrave.
The U16 boys had a similar game in the finals, with a 0-0 score that was determined by a shootout. This time, keeper Kevin Kentel and shooters Noah Dueck, Olver Perry, and Connor Sandrin fought it out and came out triumphant, giving Kelowna the championship win in the U17/U18 Premier division. The team will play in the provincial championship next week in Penticton.
The U16 Boys took gold in the Baker Blast tournament, and they head to Provincials next week. (Photo Credit: Kelowna United)
In Kelowna, several teams played in the Canada Day Tournament on June 27th and 28th. The U17/U18 Boys won all four games, shutting out their opponents with 14 goals for themselves. The team fought against the Moreton Football Academy from England in the second game, beating them 2-0 after the English players couldn’t beat the heat.
The U14 Boys also dominated their games, scoring 15 goals and letting in only two, one each for Westside and Port Coquitlam. The squad had some strong defensive play, and played in a closely contest gold medal match that could only be decided by penalty kicks. Those who scored goals in the tournament were Jagger Thomas (2), Karson Andrew, Joseph Wright, Christopher Vandenheuvel (2), Philip Michl (2), Gavin Sherman (2), Colton Smith, Reid Herron (2) and Braeden Cangiano (2).
The girls also played some strong games, with the U11 Girls – Code Red taking three games and tying one in the midday heat. The Kelowna team shut out both the Kamloops Blue and the Calgary Blizzard Lions, tying only in their third game against Calgary Fury, who was a U10 team playing up. Madison Hicks scored the only goal for KU in the first half, and an unfortunate error gave Calgary a goal with a rebound off a KU player.
The U11 Girls – Buckaroos won their first three games, losing the fourth against the Calgary Westhills United Strikers in what was probably one of the best games for the KU girls their entire season. The scoring was 0-0 until the 50 minute mark when the Calgary team just squeaked one in. Though the Buckaroos controlled play for the final 10 minutes and had multiple shots, they just couldn’t find the back of the net.
They’d already gone undefeated in their regular U12 season, so the U12 Girls – Dynamite played their year-end tournament at the U13 level. The girls beat Port Moody 2-0 in their first game, then they took a 1-0 victory over the Sting from Edmonton. The game versus the Calgary Blizzards was tougher, as this team had been at the top of their local division. The Dynamite struggled to meet the size and speed of their older opponents, but after the Blizzard scored early, the Kelowna side started to settle down. The Dynamite eventually lost 1-0, but a hard-fought fight in their fourth game against the West Hills United from Calgary gave Kelowna a win to finish off the day. Abigail Taneda had a clean kick in the bottom right corner in the game’s closing minutes, giving Dynamite the 1-0 victory. The team was tied for second in the tournament, but the players had to settle for a bronze because of goal differential.
Finally, the U11 Boys – Fire found themselves against a physical Kamloops team for their first game, losing 4-2. However, a 6-1 win over the Calgary Blizzard Barcelona boosted their spirits. In the third game, the KU Fire found themselves against their own club, the KU Predators. The Fire were up 2-0 when the Predators scored early in the second half. However, James Harris sealed the win with a great pass from Maddox Waston for a 3-1 win. Finally, the Fire took on OMYSA in 38 degree heat and though they were visibly tired, they finished 3-1.
Local Community Advertising