Roland Riedstra literally turned the Rutland Spirit inside out as the Big O Tire/Turn-Key Ogopogos posted a 5-0 Capri Insurance Men’s 45+ Soccer League win Monday night at Marshall Field #1.
The rangy striker had the Spirit keeper turning his head around all night, scoring three times and striking three posts as the Ogopogos went to 3-3. Rutland dropped to 0-6.
Other goal scorers for the Ogopogos were Terry Petersen, on a nice low shot off the inside post, and reliable Mark Wasylyk. Petersen was unselfish on a another close break against the keeper, kindly passing back to Riedstra who faced an open net.
Riedstra juked and jived around a few defenders for his other two snipes. Yogi Kongsdorf recorded the shutout, recording a few tough saves, including a hard blast from in tight which caught him square in the face. Leo Nadeau was superb anchoring the Big O Tire defence.
Gord Howard pulled the hat trick as the Leko Precast Camels stoned Brandt’s Creek 6-0 at Marshall #2.
Chris Reeves, Al Muphy and Rick Raber added singles for the Camels (5-1). Dave Dutcher recorded the easy shutout. Brandt’s Creek is 4-2.
The Silver Stars and Pushor Mitchell Advocates played to a feisty scoreless draw at Marshall #3.
Both teams battled hard in a game where both defences defended well. Brian Eso and Steve Church both put good chances over the bar in the first half for the Stars, while a Pushor Mitchell forward shot just wide of the post in the second half when he was sent through alone.
Dennis Berg and Steve Coombs defended strong for the Stars and the Pushor Mitchell back line was up to the task as well. Numerous yellow cards were handed out to both teams for a wide range of offences as the game was professionally managed by referee Wayne Aasen.
The Stars remain undefeated at 3-0-3 and Pushor Mitchell move to 2-3-1.
Kelowna Cantinas bounced Bosman Accounting of Vernon 3-1 at Mission 71 Park. The 1-5 Bosman crew played a very solid first half with Erick Burnet curling in a free kick under the top right corner, but the 2-3-1 Cantina keeper was just able to tap the ball out.
About 10 minutes later, Burnet took a corner which was received by Henk Bosman, who shot the ball clinically in the low left corner.
League-leading Kelowna IGA brushed back pesky Lake Country 3-1 at City Park, while host Salmon Arm McIasaac @ Co. shaded North Country Appraisals Kickers 2-1, and Penticton edged the Rented Mules of Kelowna 2-1. Jeff Abbott and Wolfgang Bopp scored for the 3-2-1 Shuswap boys, while Fritz Berenyi scored for the Kickers. Davey Howes was Shuswap’s game MVP.
IGA (5-0-1) visit the Camels in a showdown next Monday night in Vernon.
In men’s 35+ league play, the shorthanded Vernon Celtic fell 5-2 to first-place Penticton Pinnacles at Rutland Field.
The Celtic started with 10 players and feared for the worst when Penticton (5-0-1) got rewarded a penalty kick just minutes after kick-off. Celtic stand-in keeper Mike Collins showed his ever-growing athleticism and his diving save was followed by another rebound stop.
Minutes later, the 3-1-2 Celtic surprisingly opened the score when Collins sent a long ball to Tim McGowan who caught the Penticton keeper off his line and scored with a hard, 30-yard shot.
The Celtic gained momentum and created several chances to extend the lead, but the Pinnacles took advantage of miscommunication in the Celtic defence.
The second half featured a high tempo although chances were initially sparse until the 60th minute when Penticton broke the deadlock with a rocket shot from 16 yards.
The weary legs of the Celtic started to show and the Pinnacles capitalized with three more goals in a span of 10 minutes. Tyler Johnson got the last goal of the game with a nifty tap-in after a corner kick.
In other 35+ action, People’s Insulation of Kelowna ambushed Vernon Kal Tire 7-0 at Mission #74.
Kal Tire (0-5-1) only threatened a handful of times with their best chance coming off a great feed from Glenn Allan to fellow striker Darren Nobrega, who sailed a strike over the crossbar.
