Strikers teams fare well at Hot Shot
n Rec League U14 Threat v. Fury
The U14 Threat came away with a 3-0 win over the previously undefeated Fury in Game 5. Both teams played exceptionally well exhibiting awesome defense and ending the first half with both teams scoreless. Though the Fury fiercely defended their goal in the second half, the Threat offense was able to score three goals with the help of Chris Moes, Alicia Heigis, Jacob Waggoner and Hunter Price. Threat goals were scored by Carson Nygren, John Paul Dela Cruz and Alex Hon during the exciting second half. The terrific defensive efforts of Samantha Brown, Kristen Steiger, Hunter Price, Lizzy Branson, Jacob Waggoner and Carson Nygren kept the Fury offense from achieving their mark during the game. Goalies Alex Hon and Hunter Price intensely defended the goal box against multiple Fury goal attempts. A special thanks to our emergency sub Leo, who helped out during the second half when a defensive player was sidelined for a minor injury.
n Rec League U12 Jaguars v. Lynx
On what had to be the hardest game of the year so far for the Jaguars, a very good Lynx team brought their “A” game to the field Saturday. This was truly a defensive match. Dane, the Lynx first half goalie, had seven saves. Kaden, the Jaguars first half goalie, had eight saves to his credit, including a spectacular diving exhibition. These were all true saves where the ball would have found the net for both teams. The Lynx players Emma, Isaac, Jake, Kelsy and Dean were always in the mix, thwarting all efforts to score. Izzy Brown, however, was able to penetrate deep into the defense and on a beautiful pass from Dawna Townsend, kicked it into the far corner of the net for the lone goal of the half.
During the second half, Jimmy (Lynx) was all over the field kicking, stealing, blocking etc. He was able to intercept a pass, thread it into the Jaguar defense and from outside the penalty box, kicked it in, tying the game. Jolene the Jaguar goalie had no chance at it, but was able to stop all others this afternoon. The Jaguar defense of Morgan, Ally and Austin were again as tough as they could be, only allowing the ball to get past them once. Jade and Keely both bounced shots off the goal posts. One team could never dominate the other and even the ball was tired, as were the players, when again, Izzy Brown found an opportunity to score with 4 minutes left in the game, leading the Jaguars to another win, barely, 2-1.
n Strikers U10 Red grab silver at Hot Shot
The U10B Strikers RED team placed second at the annual Hotshot soccer tournament in Coeur D’Alene this past weekend. The RED scored an impressive 16 total goals in the tournament with a 3-1 record.
In its first game of the tournament, the RED took down rival Lakeland 4-1. Andrew Greiff came up huge as forward in this game, scoring the first goal of his Strikers career. Landin Filippini scored two powerful goals in the match and Charlie Crane also elegantly found the back of the net to clinch the RED’s victory.
The RED took on Cd’A Sting Brumbach in its second match of the tournament. From the midfield Charlie Crane and Kaden Hitchcock combined with the Strikers forwards for a number of solid scoring opportunities. Scout Nash displayed excellent speed on the ball and a hard work rate in the match. Andre Kemink’s huge saves in goal and impressive defensive efforts from Hyrum Hunsaker, Koen Conner, Andrew Greiff and Damian Fitzpatrick, coupled with a hat trick from Landin Filippini, proved to be a winning combination, earning the team a 3-1 win over the Sting.
In its third match of the tournament the RED faced off with Montana’s Missoula Strikers for a Strikers vs. Strikers battle on the pitch. The Sandpoint Strikers emerged victorious scoring six goals to Missoula’s two. Forward Carson Andrick had a number of impressive attacks, showing off some fancy footwork and nearly scoring several times. Tristan Miller contributed to the Striker offensive efforts from outside midfield, creating a number of attacking opportunities for the RED. Young Striker forward Kristopher Hertel scored the first goal of his Strikers career in the match on a perfect cross goal shot. Koen Conner and Damian Fitzpatrick each put one in for the Strikers and Landin Filippini earned his second hat trick of the tournament. This win placed the Strikers RED in the tournament finals.
The Strikers RED faced the Cd’A Sting Weinstein for a true nail biter in the finals. After a disappointing first half where the RED fell behind by four goals, the team was completely reenergized by a goal from Filippini in the 33rd minute. Fired-up and ready to take back the game, the RED scored again minutes later off a beautiful header from Kaden Hitchcock that found the corner of the net. Feeling the come back glory, Koen Conner rocketed a shot in from the outside, bringing the score to 3-4. Hyrum Hunsaker expertly manned the Striker goal during the RED’s comeback push and defensive efforts led by Damian Fitzpatrick kept the Sting from scoring again. Despite the teams’ late rally and tremendous heart, they came up one goal short, conceding the match to the Sting and earning the Strikers RED second place at the Hotshot tournament.
n Strikers U11 Boys fifth at Hot Shot
First sunburn, first tournament, first-class performance by the Sandpoint Strikers U11 Boys Red last weekend at the Hot Shot Tournament in Coeur d’Alene.
In the first game against Helena Arsenal, the Strikers tested Helena’s weapons when Jered Meyer scored in the first few minutes on a cross from Jake Tremble. The barrage was relentless during the game. Nick Rappaport had a hat trick, Jake Tremble added two more goals and the Arsenal was completely destroyed with the addition of two more goals by Roan Allen. Chase Meeks was perfect in goal, snatching any threatening shots before they entered the goal. Sandpoint won 8-0.
Missoula won the second game 2-0.
In the last game, against the Missoula Strikers Black, Sandpoint found their stride again. Jake Tremble put in a rebound from the Missoula goalie for the first goal and scored a second after getting behind the defenders and threaded the needle from the left side of the net. The first half ended 2-0. Missoula scored early in the second half, but Jake ran down a drop kick from goalie Gavin Klein, beat two defenders and powered one into the top of the net. Unwilling to give up, Missoula again scored, but again Jake scored, putting the Strikers ahead by two. The defensive three, Jered Meyer, Mahonri Hunsaker and Roan Allen, dug in. Near the end of the game, midfielder Lucas Chapman made a great pass to Cory Diel, who positioned himself to the right of the goal and crossed high and perfectly in front of the goal where Jake headed the ball down into the lower right corner for his fifth goal of the game.
The Strikers took fifth out of 12 teams in the Hot Shot Tournament. They are now 9-4-1 for the season. Their next competion is in Kalispell for the 3-blind-refs Tournament.
n Strikers U12 Boys Hot Shot Results
Last weekend’s temperatures in the high seventies and a soccer tournament fostered sunburns for almost all the U-12 Striker boys and families. Sandpoint’s initial game saw them closely matched with a team from Great Falls. Defensively, Jared Cooper, Tanner McNelley and Tyler Meyer played an almost flawless game; once again seeming to have an uncanny knack for communicating and covering. Sandpoint also received stand-up play from forwards Brett Hutchens and Jake Rookey, each netting a goal apiece.
The U-12’s second game paired them against a local Cd’A Sting team. Paul Meyers (on defense this time) was able to completely shut down the left side of the field. Which was fortunate for keeper Tyler Collins as he had his hands full tending the center and left side of his box. Collins featured several dramatic saves despite being cleated in the back and kicked in the finger. Both Tanner McNelley and Tanner Kennedy had exceptional offensive games; each giving of himself entirely. McNelley was able to walk away with two goals. In addition, second half goalie Cooper Spalding was able to keep the Sting scoreless and frustrated.
Sandpoint’s final game of the tournament was again competitive and exciting. Jared Cooper
and Tyler Meyer were exhaustive as center mid and sweeper, keeping the Strikers in the game to the very end. Brandon Heitstuman showcased numerous breakaways, unselfishly putting forwards Jake Rookey and Tyler Collins (left mid) in positions to score.
The U-12 Striker Boys will be recruiting this weekend and invite all U-12 SSA Boys to attend their practices next week.
n Strikers U13 boys second at Hot Shot
The Sandpoint Strikers U13 boys team made it to the championship game of the Coeur d’Alene Hot Shots tournament last weekend.
In the first game, a header assist from Jeremiah Gagnon to Treavor Franck led the Strikers to a 1-0 victory over Penticton, BC. In the second game, a centering pass to Joab Logan from Ash Dills was the only score as the Strikers beat a tough Missoula team, 1-0. In the third game, a well-placed corner kick by Brycen Okon led to a header goal by Matthew Burgstahler. Can you guess the final score? Yes, 1-0 for the third consecutive game.
Goalie Austin Keyes led the defense with numerous athletic stops in the three shutouts. The defensive wall of Hunter King, Nathan Schwartz, Christian Cook and Zack Carothers frustrated teams all tournament long with their speed and ball control.
The boys met their match in the championship game and lost to the Spokane Elite, 3-0. The Elite scored all three goals in the first half. In the second half, the Strikers played Spokane evenly but could only manage a few good shots on goal.
Playing in a U13-15 league, these 13-year-olds have done well. Last Wednesday they defeated a U14 team from Post Falls, 2-1, as Gagnon scored both goals. The boys defeated a Moscow U13 team, 2-1 last Saturday.
n Strikers U10 Black
Last week was busy for the U10 Black team. On Wed the U10 Black took on the Sandpoint U10 Red team in a battle for Sandpoint U10 bragging rights. With the Red team winning the fall match the Black team needed a win to even the series. The U10 Black got that win by defeating the U10 Red team 3-0. The scoring started with a beautiful drive down the flank by Gabriel Herrera. Herrera played the ball back into the box where Jack Rinck was there to put it in the back of the net. Julian Barajas had a great save on a line drive shot by the Red team. Barajas punched it over the cross bar and the Black team held onto a 1-0 lead at half time. In the second half the Black team cranked up the defensive pressure and kept the Red team from getting many scoring opportunities. Aidan Feurer, Zion Reichold, and Riley Ward all helped on the defensive side. Rinck had two assists in the second half as Patrick Rockwell and Herrera both scored. Herrera’s goal was sick. He fired a rocket shot from the baseline that hit far side net. The Black team’s possession game was brilliant in the second half. Reid Golphenee has a great game connecting passes with his teammates and helping the U10 Black control the ball. The Black team dropped and switched the ball and played their best half of soccer on the season. Men of the match were Barajas and Luke Koch. Koch was on fire and played his best game of the season. His work rate was phenomenal.
On the weekend the U10 Black team played in the Hot Shot tournament in Cd’A. The U10 Black went 1-1-1 loosing the last game of round robin play 1-0 to the eventual champions. The team tied Moscow United 1-1 and beat Post Falls Thunder 4-0. In those games Koch had three goals, Rockwell and Herrera each had one. Rinck had two assists. The defensive back line of Ben Schwartz, Amos Crossingham, Tanner Kohal and Riley Ward was absolutely brilliant in the tournament. They only gave up two goals with one coming off a set piece. They kept all of the three teams from getting any organized attack in the box. Barajas had several saves on the few shots that did get by the back line. Crossingham was particularly impressive in the last game against Cd’A sting. He kept harassing their one main scoring threat keeping him off the ball and out of the net. Rinck and Rockwell also had great defensive efforts to limit Sting to the lone goal off a set piece. Ward had a fantastic save when he came out of nowhere and blew up a through ball played to a Sting forward. Men of the match against Moscow were Koch and Schwartz. Men of the match against Thunder were Rinck and Rockwell. Men of the match against Sting were Schwartz and Crossingham.
A Kick in the Grass appears every Thursday during soccer season in the Daily Bee.