The U14 and U16 MOWI Riptide girls teams both defeated the Storm, Saturday in Campbell River.
The U14s won 3-1 with a solid team effort that included a big improvement possessing the ball in the midfield. The U16s won 4-1, all goals scored by different players. Goalkeeper Chiara Levesconte was in fine form contributing several key saves at the right moments to ensure the team held on for victory.
On Sunday, the U18 Riptide boys lost 3-1 to the U17 Lakehill team at the Vanier turf. The boys played with tremendous physicality and improved team shape. Despite the score, they possessed and maintained momentum for most of the match, and created several scoring chances.
Also Sunday at the Vanier turf, the U18 Riptide girls won 3-2 over the U18 Storm. The Riptide overwhelmed the visitors in the second half with a powerful attack and solid team defence. They were a little less hungry in the first half, and did not possess the ball at the same level as the second half. The coaches were able to balance the playing time for a team with a roster of 18 players, which is no small feat.
The U16 Riptide boys lost 4-1 to the Storm in Nanaimo. For the second week in a row, the U15 boys beat Victoria West 5-1 on the road. The game featured a four-goal performance from Markus Johnson, and Ivo Cizmic playing up on permit from the CRYSA U15 rep team.
“This weekend was a combination of productive time with both the U15 and U18 boys, analyzing video on Saturday and the regular schedule of weekend games,” Riptide technical director Shel Brodsgaard said. “Both of these teams demonstrated immediately the value of the added time learning and observing in their games the following day. In fact, the improvement in the U18 boys team shape defensively and offensively in the midfield was outstanding. Meanwhile, the remaining schedule of weekend games demonstrated that all of the Riptide teams are working hard to raise their level of play and standard each week. This was a big win for the U16 girls team, bouncing back from the recent losses over the past couple of weeks. It is an absolute pleasure to see and feel the ups and downs with the program, as we all work towards creating the most competitive, challenging and rewarding environment available for the players in our program.”
