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U11 Boys strike gold in Montana

The Nelson U11 Selects battled through the heat and some tough competition this last weekend, returning home from Kalispell, Montana with a gold medal.
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The Nelson U11 Selects played some great soccer

The Nelson U11 Selects battled through the heat and some tough competition this last weekend, returning home from Kalispell, Montana with a gold medal.

The local rep squad came out on top of the six-team U11 boys division at the 18th annual 3 Blind Refs Soccer Tournament held June 4 and 5.

With coaches Kerry Dyck and James Baxter asking the team to take a focussed defensive approach for the entire weekend, the boys started strong on Saturday morning with an impressive 8-1 win against Polson FC from Polson, Montana.

Nelson scoring came from Thomas Baxter and Aidan Mushumanski with a goal each, Angus Paterson counting a pair, and Milo Baranyai Sheppard tallying four.

Eli Lutz played well in goal in his first action between the posts this season, before being replaced in the second half by regular goal keeper Jacob Erickson.

The second game saw Nelson taking on the Idaho Thunder from Post Falls, Idaho in a Saturday evening affair, with first place in the pool and a trip to the semi-finals on the line.

“We didn’t know what to expect from the boys in the second game because of the late start, and the fact that a lot of them were interested in the score of the Canucks game that they were missing,” said Baxter. “But they stuck to the game plan and started with defending first.”

Despite a lot of pressure from a strong Idaho side, Nelson made the most of its opportunities with Baranyai Sheppard scoring a hat trick, Josh Yasek adding a single, and Erickson keeping the clean sheet for the shutout and a 4-0 Nelson win.

The semi-final on Sunday morning took on a Kootenay flavour with Nelson coming up against the Kootenay South Warriors, a team of rep players from the Castlegar, Trail and Rossland area.

“It was a bit funny to travel all the way to Montana and end up playing another local team in the semi-final,” said Dyck. “But we had to keep the boys from becoming too over-confident as they had already played this team earlier in the year and came away with a convincing victory.”

Nelson started strong with an early goal from Ernesto Archambault, and despite a deflected shot getting past Erickson, Jaden Dyck scored on a long distance kick, and Yasek and Baranyai Sheppard each scored again to effectively put the game out of reach.

The score ended a 5-1 win, after a Kootenay South player deflected the ball into his own goal off of a Nelson corner kick.

The Sunday afternoon final saw a rematch, with Nelson taking on the Idaho Thunder (who had defeated the Coeur d’Alene Sting in the other semi-final) again in a battle for the championship medal.

“We knew that the Thunder would be out to fight hard after losing to us the previous day, and that was exactly the case” said Baxter.  “Both teams played a spirited and physical first half, and there were many good runs from both teams.”

Nelson went into half time up 1-0, with Dyck scoring again on a long distance shot that surprised the Idaho goalkeeper.

The second half started with the same hard play, but goals from Paterson and Baranyai Sheppard made the score 3-0.

A late defensive breakdown allowed the Thunder to capitalize and score a goal, but it wasn’t enough as Nelson held on for a 3-1 win and the first place finish.

“It was a great way for the boys to end the weekend after playing so well, and it was a fun tournament for the coaches, players, and parents that made the trip to Montana,” said Dyck.

“They battled hard every game, and the perfect record was a total team effort.”

“This team has improved so much from the beginning of the season as everyone becomes more comfortable each other,” Baxter added.

“Being able to play a two-way game of strong defense and having good offensive threats is a benefit, and that showed in our goals for and against ratio.”

The coaches singled out the defensive play of Jesse Thurston, Baxter, and Yasek as being particularly solid, with the offensive play of Baranyai Sheppard, Paterson, and Dyck being equally impressive.

The team’s next tournament is on the July long weekend in Rutland, where they hope to build further on their season.