The Vernon Tolko United U13 Boys are going into the Les Sinnott Provincial B Cup as Thompson Okanagan Youth Soccer League (TOYSA) champions.
Vernon shut out the host Kamloops Blaze D 3-0 Sunday in the TOYSA final at McArthur Island Sports Centre. Vernon hosts the provincials July 6-9 with 48 boys teams in six age groups.
Kolby Thorpe, Marcus Erho and Cash Anderson applied early major pressure on the Kamloops keeper. Carter Leahy finished a solid pass from Justin Arsenault for Vernon’s first goal.
In the second half, Alex Kazimer set up Landon Janke for his second goal of the weekend and Owen Challen beat the keeper for his second of the playdowns as well. Jonathan Fraser-Monroe, Tate Garrod and Marcus Petersen were a solid wall in front of Justin Ruscheinsky.
Finishing the league as top seed, Vernon earned a pass directly into the Saturday semifinal, where they iced the Shuswap FC 2-0.
Challen put Vernon on the sheet first late in the first half. Zach Loland, Alexander Jones and Cameron Acob put constant heat on Shuswap’s defensive line. Janke converted a pass from Leahy for the insurance goal. Jonah Strachan and Liam Collins sweetly supported the backline.
The U13s are coached by Simon Challen, Cliff Acob and Jason Kazimer.
Vernon Tolko United lost 2-1 to the Kamloops Blaze in the Under 17 Girls final at McArthur Island Sports Centre.
However, Vernon will join Kamloops at the B.C. playdowns, July 6-9, in Surrey.
“TOYSL has been given a second berth for U17 girls provincials and so we will be heading to the coast, meeting this same Kamloops team for our first game,” said United head coach Felicia O’Gorman. “Our girls deserved the win, playing great possession soccer, and having the majority of the play. We had some key breakaways, but were unable to capitalize.”
The Tolko girls have played without a regular keeper the whole season, and almost every player has taken a turn in net, with Mason Christensen stepping in for the gold-medal game.
Kelsey Carriere scored during a fray in the Kamloops box after a corner, taking a composed touch to the side to create an opening for the shot.
Vernon lost 1-0 to Kamloops in the U14 Girls final after icing Kelowna 1-0 in Saturday’s semifinal.
“We put in a solid team effort this weekend,” said United coach Chris Torrie. “The fact that games were simply won in 1-0 fashion shows the competitiveness in this group of teams.”
Jordyn Morris converted in the first half as Vernon stopped Kelowna.
Said Torrie on Sunday’s gold-medal game: “It was a fantastic game, and the girls could be proud of leaving everything out on the field.”
Kelowna scored on a lucky early bounce in a 1-0 semifinal win over United Tolko Coldstream Lumber in U13 Girls action.
Vernon outran and outshot Kelowna and got some splendid first-half shots from Madison Bergman, Lily Lee, Georgia Wenger, Paige Maleska, Kendall McKinnon, Sarah Claeys and Mia Hyer
Jordyn Kisilevich made several fantastic saves in the final half to keep Vernon in the game. Wenger and Jessi Cleverley kept the pressure on and got a few shots in, early in the half.
The United U12 Girls Strikers dominated both their games at Quarry Park in Kelowna on Sunday, but had little to show for their efforts, falling 1-0 to Shuswap Selects T and battling Kelowna United F to a scoreless draw.
The Strikers dominated ball possession and scoring opportunities, hitting the framework seven times. Jessica Bond was denied by the crossbar with a 25-yard corker.
Amiee Skinner dominated the right side of the pitch with brilliant runs and crosses, while Anna Hirschkorn commanded the centre of the field with great ball distribution. Amy Curtis, Makenna Hamilton-Jackson and Clara Meyer were dynamic on defence.
Great communication, passing and tackling were shown by Vernon versus Kelowna but again with no finish.
Abby Lawlor made brilliant runs down the left flank, while Kirsten Brown fought hard on the right. Kristen Francks challenged hard for the ball up front, while Makkena Doyle was a force in net.
“It was one of those days,” said Striker coach Rolf Hirschkorn. “Technically we were superior in both games with the way the girls distributed the ball and supported each other. Despite not scoring I think this was the best soccer I’ve seen out of the girls this season.”
Vernon United lost 4-0 to Kamloops in the U15 Boys semifinal Saturday.
The rivals split their regular-season games with the Blaze beating Vernon twice in non-league play.
Vernon pressed hard through the midfield and attacked and defended well for the opening 20 minutes. The Blaze then counted a controversial goal with the referee ruling that a 20-yard shot that went bar down had crossed the line.
Almost immediately after that call, Vernon conceded another soft goal with a fairly dramatic consequence in that the keeper, Saul Saunders, sustained an injury and had to be replaced. Kaden Funk, a key starter, took over in net.
Funk performed incredibly well, as he has done all season whenever asked. Vernon received gritty showings from the midfield of Jack Cotter, Brad Kramer and Aiden Skinner. The use of Rory Campbell as a striker/winger was a good decision as he supported the never-surrender attitude of Aiden Buckley.
United U12 VUB are finishing the season strong, brushing back Revelstoke 5-4 and outlasting Kelowna 8-4 Sunday.
United spotted Revy a 2-0 lead before Mitchell Bond netted the first of four straight Vernon snipes. Ethan Anderson later supplied the winner. Austan VandenBrand took on keeper duties for the first half and was tenacious on defence for the second.
Jerome Winter scored five goals as Vernon iced Kelowna.
Bond, with a deuce, and Ed Scott completed the United attack. The midfield of Eric Anderson, Scott, Ethan Anderson, Mathew Acob and Chase Cederholm ran miles, while fullbacks Lucas Holtz and Josh Mark were solid in front of Mac Sorochuk.
United VUZ U12 Boys shaded Kelowna W 5-4 and lost 4-3 to Kelowna D Sunday at Salmon Arm Savings & Credit Union Sports Centre in Salmon Arm.
Kailen Russell netted United’s first goal after Kelowna W went up 2-0. Keeper Dillon Rinkel registered several difficult corner-shot saves.
Hunter Schindel and Kaden O’Connor were marvellous in the midfield, dodging defenders left and right. Josh Donison launched a bullet to level things 2-2, and Jonas McMeeking-Walsh buried a rebound for the go-ahead goal just before halftime.
The second half was full of excitement with multiple saves by Rinkel and plenty of opportunities from Russell, Rowan Calder and James Richardson. Donison converted another, and Schindel blasted one off the crossbar.
Kelowna pocketed two unanswered goals to tie it 4-4 with Donison completing the hat trick with a shot off a defender’s leg with three minutes left. The boys presented their fathers with a bottle of Dad’s Root Beer in celebration of Father’s Day.
In Game 1, United came out strong with two unanswered goals in the first half, both of them off set pieces from Jentenzen Peterson.
Calder and Richardson were stellar offensively up the middle, while defenders Smith and Blake Beaton held their own. Kelowna scored first in the second half but less than three minutes later, Peterson connected for his hat trick. Kelowna added two more tallies for the win.
The United U11 Boys and their fathers spent Sunday in Revelstoke on Sunday where Team Nice played a hard-fought battle versus Kelowna.
Newly traded James Tolpinrud pocketed two goals on great feeds from Tristiano Dziedzic, who dominated the midfield and was the Burger King Man of the Match.
“His hard work and great passing ability were on display all weekend,” said coach Jeff Nice.
Dziedzic fed a beauty pass to Thomas Nice who buried a hard shot. Rylan Nadurak and William Erickson rounded out the scoring finishing their chances. Kelowna got a couple of lucky goals late and posted the win.
In Game 2 against Kamloops, United played a great game but couldn’t finish.
“The U11 Boys have improved week by week and I’m very proud of what we achieved,” said coach Nice. “The boys are making good decisions with the ball and playing more like a team.”
Team Lockwood U11s enjoyed their most successful weekend of the year with a win and a tie in Revelstoke.
“Excellent passing and strong teamwork was the key as the defenders shut down all attacks and every player worked hard to get the ball up the field and into the net,” said coach James Lockwood.
United opened with a 4-2 win over Salmon Arm on goals from Conrad Halloran (2), Liam Greenan and Logan Andrew. The match was tied at the half with Vernon gutting out the second half with grit and determination. A rare yellow card against Salmon Arm in the 50th minute was the real indication that Vernon had outpaced, outclassed and outlasted the flagging Salmon Arm side.
The afternoon game saw Vernon facing Kelowna B for the third time this season. Having endured two thrashings in previous meetings, Vernon buckled down and recorded a solid 2-2 tie.
Greenan had a standout performance, earning the Red Robin Man of the Match. Halloran added to his impressive goal tally for the season, notching a deuce.
Due to injuries, trades and other commitments, Logan Andrew and Jeffrey Curtis stepped up and took the keeper gloves for the first time this season. Alessandro Durfeld and James Lockwood led by example on defence, playing smart and strong for 60 minutes each game. Sam and Adam Levesque and Nolan Stiven took on the role of jack of all trades, filling holes as needed and making positive contributions to the success of the team.
