Okanagan Whitecaps U14 boys win on the road

In a convincing display of committed soccer, the Okanagan Whitecaps dominated their Abbotsford hosts to run out 3-0 winners.

From the start Abbotsford found it difficult to cope with some clever passing through their defence, and were largely hemmed into their own half, finding it hard to break out. The Whitecaps showed their intent early on, with some good long range shots.

The inevitable breakthrough came — once again — through Matt McHugh, who did well to keep possession under pressure, creating enough room to strike the ball past the keeper. A well deserved second came again from McHugh, who ran onto a through ball and scored with a good shot. At this point, the Whitecaps were unlucky to get more as Abbotsford’s frustration began to affect their game.

The second half saw Abbotsford make a concerted effort to get back into the game, but the Whitecaps midfield and defence did an admirable job of containing them, playing the offside trap well and winning enough possession to launch dangerous counterattacks. During one of these, a clear foul in the Abbotsford box led to a Whitecaps penalty. Robin Whittaker stepped up to take the penalty but unfortunately send the shot high and over the crossbar.

A third goal for the Whitecaps came shortly afterwards when Jordan Garcha connected with a well placed cross at the edge of the six-yard box.

The remainder of the match was a hard fought contest with players from both sides receiving additional cards, including Salmon Arm’s Jeff Philibert who was sent off with a red card. The result sees the Whitecaps maintain their second place standing going into the mid-season break. Their next match will be at the Baker Bash in Bellingham WA.

The Whitecaps is a regional team with players from through the Okanagan including: Jake Bainas (Kamloops), Alex Beutle (Kelowna), Sam Bowers (Lake Country), James Gass (Kelowna), Cody Hutton (Kelowna), Brendan Melin (Penticton), Devin Popoff (Salmon Arm), Jeff Philibert (Salmon Arm), Mackenzie Rigg (Kelowna), Andrew Stevenson (Kelowna), James Taylor (Penticton), and Garrett Wiltse (Penticton).