The Upper Island Riptide U14 soccer team ended a six game winless streak with a 3-1 victory over Gorge/Lakehill at the Vanier turf field in Courtenay on Sunday.
Strong play from the forwards, the defence, and some timely goalkeeping sealed the deal for Riptide.
The Riptide got things rolling very early on in the first half. After just five minutes of play, Fergus Hall let go a blazer from 25 yards out that grazed the good side of the post and found the Riptide up 1-0.
Minutes later, Hall nearly made it 2-0 with a similar type of shot from about the same distance out; this time however, the ball grazed the outside of the post and deflected wide of the net.
The Riptide were rewarded for their efforts though when Joe Dirom did some digging in a dirty area and found a way to hit a wide open Nathan Chow who deposited the ball into a wide open net from five yards out, making the score 2-0. Gorge’s best chance of the half came a few minutes later when a forward came barreling down the right side and hammered a low shot that Riptide keeper Alex Weinstein dove to save and prevented any type of rebound for the onrushing Gorge players.
The Riptide started the second half in a similar fashion to the first – buzzing all over Gorge’s end of the field. A hit goal post and crossbar prevented this game from being a blowout early on.
Gorge were opportunists though, and took full advantage of a poor clearance in the box, making the score 2-1. The Riptide’s response was swift, as Cameron Bell capitalized on a scramble in from of the net, to make the final score 3-1.