A handful of Vernon Rep soccer teams pocketed medals in the Kamloops Slurpee Cup on the Victoria Day weekend.
The United Under 14 boys defended their crown at McArthur Island Sports Centre by dispatching pesky West Kelowna 2-0 Monday.
Rowan MacDonald and game MVP Malcolm Wiens contributed the early goals. Great performances were also given by Owen Burnet and Kevin Thibault, while midfielder Cameron MacKenzie and defender Connor Holliday had bold games.
The West Kelowna keeper kept things close as Vernon enjoyed a 17-2 shot advantage.
United won their pool with three wins and a tie. Elias Jensen was stellar in net, allowing just two goals.
Vernon opened with a gutsy 3-2 win over Terrace. After falling behind 3-0, Terrace scored twice to make it interesting but game MVP Jensen was brilliant to allow no more. Shey Townley contributed a deuce and Wyatt Carter added another.
United then battled Nelson squad to a scoreless draw. Sam Eggert and Peter Hirschkorn had mighty games on defence, while Gavin Mason controlled the midfield.
Vernon manhandled Williams Lake 6-0 Saturday afternoon with Charis Ondrik scoring twice, and Burnet and Hirschkorn both netting their first goals of the year. Carter was MVP.
United U17s struck gold by posting wins over Port Moody AC, Vancouver United Vipers and Kamloops Blaze, while losing by a goal to the Terrace Kermodes.
United, coached by Neil McPhie and Terry Eddy, dominated the opposition with only two goals against, one of which was a penalty shot.
The Vernon U13 boys gained a draw and three losses, starting with a 2-0 loss to Nelson. Chris Atkins, Jarrod Latta and Braeden Cooper battled hard on the wings, with Ben Purvis earning game MVP. Trent Graham, Adam Raber and Kody Kongsdorf played strong defence.
Vernon tied 1-1 with the Kamloops Blaze as Micah Martens was brilliant in net and MVP Perez Vermeulen headed one in off a bounce from a Cooper free kick.
United bowed 4-1 to Richmond with Purvis converting off a great cross by Noah Schneider. It was the first time Richmond team had been scored on all weekend. Kazuki Comley was United’s game MVP.
Vernon finished with a 2-1 loss to relentless Terrace. CJ Storey opened the attack for Vernon.
Joe Eggert was solid on the back line and Schneider was selected MVP for Roy Cooper’s bunch.
United U11 boys teams ended up meeting in a head-to-head playoff game Monday. Both teams played a level up in the tough U12 division and posted 1-1-1 records in the round-robin.
Vernon #2 opened by holding back Terrace 2-1 on goals from Nathan Paskiewich and Adam Bsat. Game MVP Matt Reich was incredible in net, while Maksim Chirkoff, Aiden Skinner and Paskiewich dominated.
Vernon #2 then lost 6-2 to West Kelowna, getting sweet goals from Kobe Grant and Liam Glennon. Reich was MVP again.
The United boys then got goals from Glennon and Skinner, on a 40-yard chip over the keeper, in a 2-0 victory over the Nelson Selects.
The lads fought hard in the second half with Tysen Fairweather, Gavin Medema and Ben Morgan holding off the Nelson pressure. Glennon collected MVP.
Vernon #1 lost 3-1 to Williams Lake in their opener with Isaiah Ondrik clicking on a penalty kick and keeper Kevin Morgan bagging MVP honours.
Game 2 ended in 2-2 draw with Nelson as United rallied for a superb finish and received two goals from MVP Ondrik. Bold showings were supplied by Joel Kongsdorf, Jack Cotter, Keegan Carmichael and Luc Jones.
United then bounced the previously unbeaten Kamloops Blaze 3-0 on a first-half goal by Ondrik and two second-half tallies by Dawson Martian. Liam Reid was a force throughout, with Lucas Schuch, Zach Manthorne and Saajan Klair turning in solid showings. A sharp Morgan pocketed the shutout and MVP.
In the Monday inter-club playoff, United #2 recorded a 2-1 win as Glennon made a fantastic run and scored the equalizer before Grant made a run down the wing and buried a hard shot. Ondrik, on a magical feed by Reid, gave United #1 the lead. Game MVPs were Cotter and Grant.
On the girls’ side at the Slurpee, Brett Bandy’s U15s struck silver by winning three before losing 1-0 to Kamloops on Monday.
Reyhanna Akkurt and Maya Bandy, with two goals apiece, and singles from Kate Healy, Brianne Robertson and Emilee Kronbauer gave United a 7-0 ambushing of the Penticton Pinnacles.
Vernon then shut down Langley 2-0 with Healy knocking in her own rebound after a corner with Kronbauer providing a nifty dummy for the winner. Minutes later, Kailyn Halvorson charged down the right wing and nailed a chip over the keeper.
Healy, Kronbauer and Lydia Wood supplied the goals as United grounded Abbotsford 3-0.
The United U12 #1 girls also garnered a silver medal, starting with a 3-0 win over the skilled and well-disciplined Vernon #1 U11s on snipes by Megan Sherwood, Makena Kersey and Danica Ariano. Callie Bertram was the game MVP for the U11s.
Game 2 saw the girls topple a younger Kelowna squad 5-1 as fabulous passing by Keira Correias and Emilia Durfeld helped Ariano to a hat trick. Kelsey Carriere added two goals.
Vernon played the tough Penticton U12 squad to a scoreless draw in their third game. Great attacking runs by Sydney Grevatt, Grace Atkins and Sherwood kept the action in Penticton’s end, while Vernon’s defensive line of Julia Thompson, Carly Southam and Olivia Sawka sparkled.
United #1 finished by falling 4-0 to Kamloops with Vernon getting gutsy play by Durfeld, Atkins, and Paige Noakes up front.
The Interior Savings United U11 #1 girls shared second place at 2-1-1 playing in the U12 category, getting edged out for a medal on a close goal differential.
After their loss to Vernon United U12 #1, the Interior Savings girls tied eventual champion Kamloops Blaze 1-1 with MVP Anne Cherkowski scoring on a nice solo effort for a first-half lead. Kamloops equalized in the second half off a stolen goal kick. The defence of Bertram, Kenzie Koshure, Emma Eggert, Keeley Tiessen and Carly Larson were rock-solid against a bigger and stronger side. Summer Crosby played big when called upon in net.
The United girls beat U12 Penticton 1-0 in their third game with Koshure landing a 30-yarder in the first half. The midfield of Cherkowski, MVP Emily Boden, Sarah Stevenson, Megan Claeys, Rane Smith and Elana Friesen did an excellent job in support of Crosby.
United ended the weekend by shading Kelowna’s Okanagan Mission 1-0 with Cherkowski scoring early in the second half with low shot. Koshure was the MVP.
The United U11 #2 girls had a challenging but rewarding experience at their first Slurpee Cup.
“The team that started the year together as a ragtag group of mostly nine-year olds is developing into a real team; not putting a lot of points in the win column, but controlling play, passing and shooting as well as any other U11 team,” said coach James Cotter.
United bowed 3-2 to Kelowna despite a strong start and goal by Taylor Francks. A great cross by MVP centre back Emma Lockwood led to a season-first goal by Emma Lochhead to bring it close. Solid goaltending by Lanaya Bandy and Kaia Barker kept Vernon in the game. Sarah Beka, taking a break from goalkeeping, played quality, conservative defence.
United lost 3-0 to the Vernon U12 #2 side Saturday morning, getting terrific speed from MVP Kelsey Fillion, solid defending by Elizabeth Hirschkorn and dogged determination by Sarah Troidl.
The U11 #2 crew then fell 4-0 to the Merritt U12s with Greenley Schneider earning game MVP for her relentless work ethic.
United finished the tournament with a 1-1 tie with Kelowna United Lightning on a goal by Bandy after a pretty feed by Jessica Grages. Defender Ashley Budgen shut down Kelowna in the second half to keep it tied. Lockwood was the MVP.
The United U13 girls went 2-1-1 in a tough Tier 1 division, MVP awards going to Dannika Roy, Mason Christensen, Jai Sidhu and Madelyn Smith.
