Jeremy Hannaford
Free Press
The 100 Mile U14 rep soccer team played against two teams on May 29 in 100 Mile House.
The team aimed to take what it had learned from the May 15 tournament and play as a stronger unit.
The first game had a quick start with Quesnel scoring in the first three minutes. 100 Mile responded with a steal by Jackson Saunders from the Quesnel defence and finding the back of the net for the first 100 Mile goal of the day. Quesnel came back with another goal at the 15-minute mark.
Saunders evened the score with a terrific assist from teammate Kade Livingston.
However, the game would take a turn as Quesnel scored back-to-back goals in the 18- and 19-minute marks.
Quesnel became a dominant force in the second half as it took advantage of gaps in defence and pounded several shots on net.
100 Mile goalie Ryan Chamberlain put in a strong performance and made some great saves. The local players had some scoring chances but were not able to capitalize on them.
Quesnel won 11-2.
Despite the loss, the 100 Mile players were not discouraged and played a stronger style against the Williams Lake 2 team.
100 Mile player Florian Holzapsel scored the first goal on an assist by Robert Waldner eight minutes in. The team then received a penalty shot at the 33-minute mark after Kade Livingston was taken down hard in the 16-yard box. Leandro Lang took the shot and scored, doubling the lead to 2-0.
Williams Lake came back with two goals at the 37- and 40-minute marks.
100 Mile received another penalty shot, which was taken by Lang, and it produced another goal.
Then the 100 Mile team focused on strong defence against hard pressure from Williams Lake, which scored two more goals.
100 Mile didn't let up and had several scoring attempts, but was not able to capitalize.
The game ended with a 6-3 victory for Williams Lake.
100 Mile head coach Frank Bertz says he was very proud of his players following the game.
“It was very exciting to watch these two games, and I'm looking forward to watching this team grow even more.”
The 100 Mile U14 rep soccer team will have its wrap-up tournament on June 26 in 100 Mile House.