Revelstoke’s boys teams shone at the Little Bear soccer tournament, with the U16/17 team finishing second and the U13/14 team winning bronze last weekend.
The Little Bear tournament brought 43 boys and girls teams in various age groups to Revelstoke for the weekend. They played on days that started off rainy and ended up dry.
Revelstoke’s U16/17 boys team went undefeated in round-robin play, beating Williams Lake and Canmore on Saturday and then clinching first in the division with a win over Golden early Sunday morning.
That set the stage for the finals against a powerful Shuswap team, which coasted through its two round-robin games.
The game started out with the teams evenly matched. Shuswap had a slight edge in play in the first half but Revelstoke had the best chance when a player hit the cross bar with a shot early on.
In the second half, a well rested Shuswap team slowly took over, scoring once early on and adding two late goals for a 3-0 win.
Coach Rob Evans said he was very happy with his team’s play, noting that they didn’t give up a single goal in the round-robin. In the finals, he said Shuswap was a older and more experienced.
“It showed towards the end, we got a little tired,” he said.
The U13/14 boys played in a barn-burner match Sunday afternoon, defeating Columbia Valley 4-3 to win the bronze.
The u13/14 girls and U11/12 boys both went 1-3 throughout the tournament.
All told, 43 teams – 17 boys and 26 girls – from Alberta and British Columbia came to Revelstoke for the tournament.
Organizer Alan Chell thanked the City of Revelstoke and the Revelstoke School District for preparing the playing fields, the Revelstoke Youth Soccer Association for their help in organizing the tournament, and the community for its outstanding hospitality.
“Teams raved about the friendly reception they received with hotels/motels and restaurants,” he said.
The complete Little Bear results are as follows:
— U11/12 boys: Gold: Canmore, Silver: Shuswap (11), Bronze: Shuswap (12)
— U13/14 boys: Gold: Canmore, Silver: Shuswap, Bronze: Revelstoke
— U16/17 boys: Gold: Shuswap, Silver: Revelstoke, Bronze: Columbia Valley
— U11/12 girls: Gold: Shuswap (12), Silver: Williams Lake, Bronze: Shuswap (11)
— U13/14 girls: Gold: Calgary Blizzard, Silver: Calgary Villains, Bronze: Rutland
— U14/15 girls: Gold: Calgary Lyon, Silver: Columbia Valley, Bronze: Cranbrook
— U16/17 girls: Gold: Calgary Chinook, Silver: Columbia Valley, Bronze: Shuswap
