U14 Selects enjoy taste of Kootenay South Gold
By The Nelson Daily Sports
By The Nelson Daily Sports
The roundball season is in full swing and so is the Nelson U14 Selects.
The Reps blasted Kootenay South 6-0 en route to the gold medal in the U14 Boys Division at the KSYSA 16th Annual Boys Tournament Sunday at Mozzochi Park in Fruitvale.
Micah May scored three times and James Miller added a pair to lead the Reps to the convincing victory.
Dunavan Morris-Jansen scored the final tally for Nelson.
“In the close games we maintained most of the possession but we just couldn’t finish and even when we were down our boys just kept at it,” said Nelson coach Dan Szabo.
“Their perseverance paid off, they didn’t quit. Once they found the net you could just see the confidence build.”
The Selects opened the tournament by rallying back to edge Kootenay South 3-2. Trailing 1-0, Spencer Szabo tied the game on a penalty kick.
Kootenay South restored the lead before May pulled the team even again. Nicholas Wethal notched the game winner with just minutes to play.
In the afternoon game, the Reps blasted Creston 9-0. James Miller scored three times for Nelson with the remaining goals going to May, Szabo, Keaton Roch and Sam Woodward.
Sunday, Nelson advanced to the final by edging Kootenay East Rovers of Cranbrook 3-1. Once again the Selects needed to comeback after being down 1-0.
But goals from Morris-Jansen and Tucker Anderson, followed up by an insurance marker by Dylan Bennett, allowed the Selects to pull out the victory.
“This was a very important weekend for (the players),” Szabo explained. “The boys have grown and are now, truly, a ‘team’. I couldn’t be happier for them.”
Despite scoring more than 20 goals, Szabo was impressed by the strong play of the defensive line.
“Much of the credit goes to our fullbacks,” he said. “Johnny Johnson, Theo Bakas and Nick Wethal were a force back there and (goalkeeper) Harrison Giles made some terrific saves.
“That guy is a walking Tide commercial.”
The Reps have a week off before traveling to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for a rep tournament during the May long weekend.
sports@thenelsondaily.com
