The Penticton Tim Horton’s Pinnacles under-21 men’s soccer team returned to its winning ways with a 5-1 pasting of Kelowna United FC Saturday.
Pinnacles coach Wyatt Seddon-Johnstone was happy with their result in the Pacific Coast Soccer League game, though the Pinnacles were outscored in the second half 1-0.
“I thought our play was a little bit lethargic at times,” said Seddon-Johnstone. “We didn’t really win our battles around the park. I was really happy with their response from last weekend when we got humped on the Island.”
Helping the Pinnacles improve to 3-2 in the Reserve Division were Randy Hubber with a pair of goals, Dan Thornton and Xavier Araujo with one each, while Kelowna had an own goal.
Seddon-Johnstone attributed the offensive surge to a good week of training that focused on attacking, net scenarios and goal scoring opportunities. The Pinnacles coach said it helped put the players in the right mind frame.
In talking about the second half, Seddon-Johnstone said he thinks they got too comfortable and returned to their bad habits.
“We just didn’t really stick with the game plan mostly due to the score line,” he said. “We need to be better next weekend.”
One other bright spot for the Pinnacles was the play of call-up Brady van Ryswyk, 16, who filled in for Matt Bumstead who was out with a knee injury.
“He played very well. I was very pleased with that,” said Seddon-Johnstone, who said it’s a good accomplishment for van Ryswyk. “I’m hoping to use him more.”
This weekend is a rematch with Kelowna and Seddon-Johnstone wants to see a similar performance with a better final half. That tilt will be at King’s Park Saturday at 2 p.m.
Pinns overcome poor start with win
Melanie Shannon pocketed a pair of goals in a 3-2 comeback win for the Hyundai Pinnacles under-21 women’s team against Kelowna United June 1. LaDawn Latawiec scored the other Pinnacles goal as they erased a 2-0 deficit.
Kelowna opened the scoring one minute into the match then added another goal 19 minutes later. The Pinnacles cut the lead to 2-1 before the first half ended.
“We dominated the whole second half,” said Pinnacles coach Ray Hintz. “We are going to have to fix the bad starts. A couple games now we have been down 2-0.”
The Pinnacles secured the win with Jessie Olfert in goal. She was fresh off helping the Princess Margaret Mustangs win a provincial high school soccer championship on Saturday.
This weekend the Pinnacles are hosting TSS Academy at King’s Park at 4 p.m.
