Morning Star Staff
Vernon United U14 boys avenged an opening-day defeat to the Penticton Pinnacles with a 1-0 win Sunday in Thompson Okanagan Under 14 Boys Rep Soccer League play at Marshall Field #4.
Lucien Desmazes-Landry slotted the ball home on the rebound from a shot off the crossbar from Saajan Klair. Vernon dominated possession and easily could have ran up the score if the Pentiction replacement goalie hadn’t played so well.
Defender Luc Jones turned in a marvellous showing on the left side while midfielders Mathew Reich, Jack Cotter, Klair and Aiden Skinner controlled the tempo.
Forwards Aidan Buckley, Brad Cramer and Brodie Fraser ran hard all afternoon, while big, speedy striker William Oordt-Bosman pressured the Penticton defence.
Jared Ross made some key saves when Penticton pressed in the dying minutes.
Vernon United U13 Boys were grounded 5-3 by Kelowna United Sunday at Mission Sports Fields.
Kelowna scored twice in the first 15 minutes before Chris Reinhardt took a beautiful corner and Ronic Chauhan scored on the scramble.
Kelowna went ahead by a deuce in the second half before Reinhardt sent a free kick through the keeper’s hands.Kelowna scored again but 10 minutes later, Chauhan converted a rocket.
Solid defensive performances from Josiah Falk, Mark Hesketh, Hakan Akkurt, Ty Bartel, Cole Ogasawara and Reinhardt kept Vernon in the game.
Vernon United U15 fell 8-0 to Kelowna United U16 in boys play Sunday.
Vernon faced a team that was a year older, nearly a head taller, and a step faster. Within 15 minutes, it was 3-0 Kelowna.
Vernon keeper Jared Jameson did an incredible job as Kelowna hammered nearly 30 shots on goal in a 6-0 opening half.
Vernon kept swinging in the final half and with every passing minute, they made some headway. They all but stopped the scoring spree brought on by Kelowna.
Replacement keeper Ian Oliphant also did a fantastic job and offered positive comments all morning.
The Vernon Venom U11 Boys clipped host Shuswap C 6-3 before bowing 8-4 to the Kamloops Blaze.
Vernon struck early versus Shuswap with a goal from Braxton McDonald, assisted by Josh Donison and Hayden Murphy.
Salmon Arm quickly answered, but Mitchell Bond responded with a corner that bounced and spun in behind the keeper.
Action was fast and furious as Salmon Arm scored on a free kick but Jentezen Peterson countered for United.
Bond scored his second from a beautiful pass by Murphy in the second half. Peterson was strategically placed for a rebound snipe which was then answered by a rebound goal from Shuswap. Rebounds abounded as Vernon’s final goal was a rebound scored by Josh Donison off a corker by Bond. Kayden O’Connor, Matthew Hill Turner, Luca Ariano and Rowan Smith had deluxe outings.
McDonald and Donison counted early goals against Kamloops, while Peterson fired a pair in the final half. Henry Routley and Joshua Mark set up some nifty plays.
United U15 girls lost 2-1 to United U16 girls Saturday.
The U15 girls enjoyed plenty of opportunities and held great possession of the ball.Mariya Blades had an outstanding day and scored for the U15s. Elena Gaskell also had an excellent showing.
The U15s fell 4-1 to Kamloops Sunday with Nadia Smith delivering an aggressive game on defence and Gaskell going top shelf for the United goal.
In U13 Girls play, with a combined total 26 shots on net coming from both teams, it took penalty shots from handballs late in the second half to decide a 1-0 nail biting win over Vernon over the Kamloops Blaze.
Jordyn Morris, who had six shots, executed a howitzer of a penalty kick at 70 minutes and keeper Brianna Li stopped A Kamloops penalty attempt with less than 10 minutes left to earn her second shutout of the season.
A free kick in the final five awarded to Kate McIntosh was unfortunately blasted off the goal post.
Scoring attempts from Megan Henderson, Tristan Dewitt, Brooklyn Routely and Morgan Boisvert, as well as tremendous defensive efforts by Kassidy Schaper-Kotter and Abigail King to chase down two breakaway attempts, boosted United.
The Vernon United Tolko AIL MSE Precast U12 Blues lost 3-2 to Kelowna A’s and rebounded for a 2-1 victory over the Kamloops Blaze.
Jordyn Kisilevich was brilliant in net, keeping the tenacious Kelowna team to only one goal in the first half; blocking a tough penalty shot and immediate rebound midway through half, and making a spectacular save at the end of the half.
Kelowna moved ahead by three, and it looked like a dire situation as the last 10 minutes of the half approached, but after multiple attempts, Brooklyn Kineshanko received a textbook pass from Kaiden Sherwood and buried Vernon’s opening goal.
The local girls kept the pressure on and Sarah Claeys connected five minutes later.
Mia Maltman started strong in net versus Kamloops. Sherwood scored within the first 10 minutes, set up by a long feed from Jaya Chauhan.
Kamloops scored at the end of the half to tie it up. Kisilevich was back as keeper in the second half. Kineshanko, Sherwood, and Kendra Grant kept the pressure on, and Grant converted a rocket for the winner.
The Vernon Blasters drew 2-2 with the Kamloops Blaze and tied the Kelowna Goblins 3-3 in U11 Girls play.
Stellar goalkeeping from Jesse Mitchell kept the Blasters in the game early versus the Blaze, along with bold defence from Tori Maltman and Abby Lawlor.
Vernon took things over in the second half with an early snipe by Makenna Hamilton-Jackson, who deposited a goal-mouth dish by Kristen Francks.
Hamilton-Jackson returned the favour minutes later by setting up Francks for a tap-in to even the tilt.
The Blasters came out with relentless pressure to open the match against the Goblins. Abby Lawlor took a pass from Francks and went top cheese. Seven minutes later, Hamilton-Jackson added another with an assist from Jordyn Clarke.
Mitchell was a wall in the Blasters goal, making several highlight reel stops before Kelowna snuck one past her with seconds left in the half. Paige Cover took over in net for the second half and stymied the Kelowna offence.
Emerging star Sadie Cristensen stole a Kelowna pass and set up Mitchell for the third goal. The Goblins scored twice late in the half to escape with a tie.
It was a splendid Sunday for parents to work on their tan and the players of the Vernon U11 Wildcat boys to work on their skills against the Shuswap and Kelowna teams.
William Lockwood played an exceptional first game, scoring two goals in a 4-4 draw with Shuswap.
Although the boys lost to Kelowna 4-1 in the second game, if hits against the goalpost counted, they would have won for sure. Ed Scott was fast on his feet and played hard.