Select teams get taste of outdoor season at Icebreaker tourney
By The Nelson Daily Sports
It’s hard to believe with the longer than normal winter that a few Nelson Youth Soccer team opened the rep season this past weekend in Lake Country at the Icebreaker Invitational.
Three teams getting a taste of the new season included the U15 and U14 Girl’s and U17 Boys.
All three teams found the competition tough during its first taste of the outdoor season.
U15 Selects hope Icebreaker a springboard to a great season
Although the team did not win a game, coach Mike Gerun remains optimistic on the upcoming rep season.
“The girls played above expectations and really gelled as the weekend progressed,” Gerun explained. “Judging from this weekend’s performance it appears we could set our expectations high for this season.”
The Selects lost out in the bronze medal game 2-0 to Vernon to finish fourth in the tournament.
Nelson dropped its opener 1-0 to a Prince George side that scored the game’s only goal in the final minutes of the second half.
Nelson’s scoreless streak continued as the squad lost to Vernon United in shootout.
The game was scoreless after regulation time.
The Selects finally saw some offence against the eventual champion Kelowna as Haliee Gerun scored twice in a 3-2 score.
Kelowna got all breaks in the game receiving two penalty kicks on questionable handballs in the box.
Selects up against tough competition at Icebreaker
It was preseason action for Nelson while the players on the other side of the pitch were priming for playoffs.
Nelson lost all four games but coach Scott Lewis was not disappointed in the results.
“It was tough competition but no blowouts and the kids played well considering it was our first time outdoor this season,” Lewis explained.
Nelson lost 1-0 to Kelowna, 2-0 to Vancouver Island and 3-0 to Calgary Villans.
In the final game Prince George exploded to a 7-0 victory.
Cooke keeps Selects close with great goalkeeping
After a great start, it was an uphill climb for the U14 Selects.
Nelson’s Naomi Perkins scored the opening goal of the game before Calgary roared back in a 3-1 contest.
The Selects then lost 2-0 to Vernon before stumbling Sunday against Prince George 2-0.
Nelson then dropped a heartbreaking shootout decision to Kelowna.
“Coaches Paul Burkart and Pat Perkins were very pleased with the team’s performance,” said a team spokesperson.
“The quality of Nelson’s play improved throughout the tournament, as shown by taking the talented Kelowna Elite team to a 0 – 0 draw in the final contest.”
Goalkeeper Haley Cooke earned MVP honours for the Selects as the backstopper kept the scores close in all games with smart play and key stops.
All three teams have a few weeks to prepare for opening games in the Kootenay rep season.
