It was a beautiful day for the opener of the U-13 to U-15 Girls Soccer Provincial B Cup at Lakeside Park. Players and their families came out in droves on Thursday.
In one of the opening games the U-13 Nelson Selects fell to Kelowna 4-1.
Coach Darren Peloso said the girls played a strong offensive game, keeping it neck-and-neck until the final moments when Kelowna scored two goals in a row.
The U-13 Kootenay South Storm girls lost to Terrace 2-nil.
Meanwhile the U-14 Kootenay South Storm emerged victorious, 3-1 over Surrey.
"It was a pretty close game with a lot of back and forth but we managed to get a few extra goals," said coach Chris Pengelly.
The U-14 Nelson Selects lost 3-nil to Kelowna.
"It was fairly even but the other team capitalized on their chances. We were passing low and getting lots of chances, and the game was pretty even possession-wise, but we just weren't able to get that ball in the net," said coach Rob Borhi.
The U-15 Nelson Selects were leading North Shore 1-nil at the half. They ultimately won the game 1-nil over the North Shore Vipers.
The U-15 girls celebrate their win over the North Shore Vipers. (Bob Hall photo)
Meanwhile, it was a successful day for the Nelson Selects girls team competing at the provincials in Penticton.
The U18 girls opened up their tournament against rival Invermere. Jenna Wheeldon opened the scoring on a header to give Nelson the early lead. Invermere battled back and scored to tie the game up. That goal seemed to wake up the Nelson side and they completely dominated the game. Nelson’s Naomi Perkins scored three unanswered goals to give Nelson a 4-1 win.
The U16 girls came up against the Coastal Cup champion from Burnaby. Emma Wheeldon drilled a perfect shot just under the bar to give Nelson the 1-nil midway through the first half. That turned out to be all Nelson would need as they held on to win 1-nil.
“We battled hard in some pretty hot conditions,” said head coach Chuck Bennett. “We played our system today and we defended beautifully. It was a well earned win over a tough competitor.”
At the U13-15 Les Sinnott Memorial Boys Provincial Cup, the U13 Nelson Selects opened with a 3-1 loss to Kelowna United, while the U14 Selects fell 5-1 to the Central City Breakers, and the U15 Selects dropped a 5-nil decision against Langley United.
Action continues today and tomorrow with the finals set for Sunday.
Check nelsonstar.com throughout the weekend for results and photos from the local pitches, as well as from Penticton and 100 Mile House.
Below: Nelson Selects striker Allie Zondervan wins this header in action against Invermere Thursday in Penticton. (Chuck Bennett photo)
Below: Nelson Selects striker Maddie Sternloff battles and wins this ball in action against Invermere in Penticton on Thursday. (Chuck Bennett photo)
Above: Kelowna's U-13 girls (red) ultimately defeated the Nelson Selects 4-1. (Will Johnson photos) 
Above: The U-14 Kootenay South Storm (red) emerged victorious, 3-1 over Surrey. (Will Johnson photos.)
Above: The U-15 Selects (white) battled hard against the North Shore Vipers and won 1-0. 
Above: The U-14 Selects (blue) lost 3-0 to Kelowna.