Some of his friends say he’s too slow. Others say he’s too old and fragile.
Rick Danyluk proved otherwise Monday night, scoring four times and setting up two others as the Silver Stars stuffed Big O Tire Ogopogos 6-1 in Capri Insurance Okanagan Men’s 45+ Soccer League action at Marshall Field #3.
The Stars opened the offence in the 15th minute when Brian Eso scored his first of the year on a header off a Danyluk corner. The Stars had a chance to go up 2-0 just five minutes later, but Rob Bauml was unable to convert a spot kick when he hit the outside of the post.
Danyluk, 46, and suffering from a spring cold, scored his first of the game at 32 minutes when he was sent in alone by Steve Fitzpatrick and buried the ball far side past a diving Yogi Kongsdorf.
Danyluk scored his second on the short side after taking a great through ball from Art Renaud, early in the second half. Danyluk pulled the natural hat trick goal six minutes later when he headed in his own rebound after taking a feed from Gary Saunders.
“The last time I scored a hat trick was during the warm up of a co-ed game,” laughed the down-to-earth Danyluk, who had a few other solid scoring chances.
Big O answered when John Garner scored direct on a corner, curling the ball in the net off the back post to make it 4-1.
Renaud replied for the Stars, connecting off a pass from Danyluk, and then Danyluk registered his fourth of the night with 12 minutes left after being sent in by a great Steve Coombs’ pass.
Brian Eso played a strong game for the Stars and Kongsdorf made many great saves in the Big O net.The Stars moved to 2-0-1 and Big O dropped to 1-2-0. The Ogogopos sorely missed injured sniper Mark Wasylyk and suspended roadrunner Ruben Cerventez.
Vernon youth soccer grad Duane Mueller haunted some former teammates by scoring the winner as Lake Country FC upset the Vernon Camels 2-0 at Beasley Park.
Mueller beat defender-turned-keeper Ron Krause on a rebound in the first half as Lake Country posted their first win after a draw and a loss.
The Camels applied a lot of pressure in the second half, but Lake Country keeper Todd Ryder came up big, stoning Gord Howard and Brian Williamson on rockets from just inside the 18. Neil McNeil added an insurance goal in the late stages. The Camels are 2-1.
Salmon Arm spotted Bosman Accounting of Vernon the lead before posting a 3-1 win at Marshall #1.
The number crunchers took the lead after a penalty kick in the first half converted by Henk Bosman.
The accountants had a few more chances to extend their lead, but Bosman just missed the target by a few centimetres after a header on a corner. They also struck the crossbar in the second half after a run from the right wing.
North Country Appraisals Kickers picked up their first win of the season, 5-0 over Pushor Mitchell at Mission 71 Park in Kelowna.
North Country got goals from Randy Boehm, Jamie MacPherson, Wil Kruiper, Fritz Bromei and Matt Cherrille. Dave Rundall earned the shutout.
In Okanagan Men’s 35+ League play, Vernon Celtic ran their winning streak to three games with a 5-0 grounding of Tree Brewing FC at Marshall #4.
The visitors stood their ground until late in the first, but had no answer when Kriss Yargeau surprised the keeper with a well-placed shot from 30 yards out.
Two minutes later, Celtic took further control when newlywed Chris Bader broke through and calmly slotted the ball home from a tight angle. Captain Geoff Straight scored the third goal just before halftime with a low shot in the far corner.
The brewers took more risks in the second half and forced stand-in Celtic keeper Ryan Sharp to make some splendid stops.
As fatigue settled in, the game opened up and it was Bryan Schenker who completed the rout with two breakaway goals. Highlight of the game was a spectacular volley from Man-of-the-Match Rodney Goodchild, which ended up hitting the post.
Kal Tire of Vernon bowed 6-0 to Sturgeon Hall FC at Mission 73 Park in Kelowna.
The tiremen played a pretty tight game for the first 20 minutes before a borderline call in the box awarded Sturgeon with a penalty shot.
