The youth soccer season kicked off its second half last weekend with some of Ladysmith and area’s teams at the top of the pack.
Sitting at the top of the U-18 division is the Ladysmith Blue Lightning, coming off of a 4-3 win over the seventh-place Cedar Stars on Jan. 8.
Coach Joseph Knippshild credited a strong offense as the key to the girls’ performance this season.
“We’re really good at keeping the ball at their end and making the shots on net,” he said. “Even though they’re tired at the end of the game, they don’t give up on the ball, they’re very tenacious.”
The Lightning’s next game takes place at the Ladysmith turf field at noon on Jan. 15 against Nanaimo 1, who beat them 1-0 during their last match. The Lightning’s last game of the regular season is Feb. 5.
The Mid-Isle Hurricanes (U-15 Cedar Girls) kept their unbeaten season alive as they fought to a 1-1 draw against the Oceanside Stormers at Forrest Field Sat., Jan. 7. The Hurricanes remain in top spot in their league with 11 wins and one tie in 12 games this season.
On Sat., Jan. 7, the Mid-Isle Spartans (U-15 Boys) pulled off a shocking 4-0 victory against second-place Nanaimo No-Names. The previous time these two teams met, the Spartans were on the wrong side of a 6-2 score. The win lifts the Spartans into fourth place in their league. Taylor DeSouza scored a hat trick for the Spartans, and David Rankin put in the other goal to remain top scorer on the team. Defender Tyler Wilson was tireless in securing the shutout, as well as contributing two assists to the scoresheet.
“Tyler is our workhorse; he has an outstanding attitude and is a real leader on the field. He plays to win, he inspires his teammates to play their best, and he has a lot of fun out there”, said coach Rob Griffin.
The Spartans will take this weekend off before resuming play against the top team in the league, the undefeated Nanaimo Black Ops, on Jan. 21.
Ladysmith’s U-15 girls team is sitting at second place in its division, as are the Ladysmith Avalanche U-13 girls.
— with submitted files
