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Kootenay Whitecaps post mixed showing in Portland

The trip was part of the club’s Caps to College program
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The under-16 Kootenay Whitecaps. Top row, L-R:Jordan Morello, Cadel Goertzen, Kieran Dehnel, Kaleb Scott, Matteo Chirico, Berend Platje, Braxton Chan, Tom Bryson, Sawyer McLagan. Bottom row: Callum Cutler, Ryder Skolka, Seth Drouin, Edan Sollid, Jacob Marshall, Milo Klein, Levi Taylor. Photo submitted

Submitted

The Kootenay Whitecaps under 16 and under 18 boys teams travelled to Portland to play in the Portland Timbers Alliance Showcase event on Dec. 8 and 9.

In the U16 division, the boys had a fantastic weekend finishing second out of 16 teams and winning three games out of four, where they scored eight goals and conceded only three.

This is an incredible achievement for these younger players, who defeated some extremely tough sides over the course of the weekend, including beating state champions Portland Westside Timbers 2-0.

West and South Kootenay players involved were goalie Matteo Chirico, defenders Kieran Dehnel, Kaleb Scott, Levi Taylor, and Tom Bryson, midfielders Callum Cutler, Noah Pucci-Danielle, Ryder Skolka, Edan Sollid, and Jacob Marshall and strikers Milo Klein, Cadel Goertzen and Berend Platje.

Placed in a group pool with the Oregon and Idaho state champions, the U18 side acquitted themselves well but ended up on the wrong side of all four games.

Having a 0-4 record only tells half the story as all games were lost by just one goal and in two of the games happened with the last kick of the game.

Many players still did themselves no harm regarding recruitment for colleges and universities with several strong performances throughout the weekend. Being in such a tough group, the players can still be very happy with the performances they put in, but will look to improve in front of goal when attending the SX Collegiate Showcase in Vancouver next April.

The West and South Kootenay players in the U18 squad were: Hunter Lloyd, Nathaniel Riemer, Hayden King, Simon Larocque, Seamus Carlyle, Moss Caney, Nathan Masini, Noah Lunn, Jayden Bowcock, and Kai Dorner.