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Soccer teams take the field

| October 7, 2009 9:00 PM

n U6 Rec League — Captain Crunch v. Wheaties

Well it was a fun and exciting weekend for the Captain Crunch, who played the Wheaties hard despite the strong winds. Both teams showed great enthusiasm as they hustled around the field putting on a great show for parents and guests. Kudos to both the Cpt. Crunch and Wheaties for playing a great game filled with sportsmanship.

n U10 Rec League boys — Gorillas v. Spider Monkeys

Another good weekend for the Gorillas. The Gorillas showed great improvement from last weekend with more teamwork passing the ball around. Christian scored the only goal for the Gorillas early in the second half. Despite the score, it was a hard fought game against a very strong offensive team in the Spider Monkeys. Thank you to the Spider Monkeys for playing us hard and demonstrating great sportsmanship.

n U12 Striker boys

Last Saturday, there was no extra-terrestrial intervention in the game between Sandpoint Strikers U12 Boys Red and the Lewiston Cougars.Within a few minutes of the kickoff, Jake Tremble had scored the winning goal off an assist by Nick Rappaport. Within 10 minutes, Jake had scored again and two more goals had been added by Cory Diel and Nick. In the second half, Mahonri Hunsaker added a bullet from the right, Michael Barley a nice shot from the left side, and for desert Gavin Klein placed one of his 30 yard boots in the upper right corner and another into the left corner from the far right sideline. None of this would have been possible without the superperb defense of Roan Allen, Lucas Chapman, Jered Meyer and Colton Moore, and the flawless goalkeeping of Gavin Klein and Karsten Foster.

n U11 Striker U11 boys (Black)

The U11B Black team took on two Spokane Shadow teams over weekend. In the first game the Strikers played to a 4-1 victory on a cold wet field in Spokane. Jack Rinck scored three goals with two of the goals assisted by Patrick Rockwell. Reid Golphenee played well and stepped up his defensive pressure in the attacking third. The solid defensive play of Ben Schwartz, Dylan Dufenhorst and Amos Crossingham kept the Shadow far from the goal. Gabriel Herrera generally caused havoc for the Shadow defenders. They did not know how to handle his speed. Kaden Hayes played well as outside mid and also had some nice saves as keeper. Rinck was man of the match. In the second game the Strikers returned home to play on a very windy pitch. The Strikers went against the wind in the first half and the defense was solid. Michael Morrison was brilliant in goal and was named man of the match. Schwartz, Crossingham and Dufenhorst were outstanding in keeping the Shadow out of the net. Riley Ward and Nick Griffin both dropped back into the box to help with the defensive effort. Griffin almost scored after beating four Shadow defenders. In the second half, with the winds to their backs, the Strikers were able to control the ball. Rinck and Rockwell both scored to give the Strikers a 2-0 victory. Herrera was fantastic as an outside mid. Brennan Powell looked great making smart tactical decisions that helped the Strikers maintain possession. Finn Treadaway made a beautiful attacking run and Rockwell slotted the ball through several defenders.

n U13/14 Striker boys

Playing in what was probably their best game together as team, the U13 Striker Boys took on the Lakeland Nighthawks last Wednesday on Centennial Field. Both outside defenders, Paul Meyers and Evan Darley (Man of the Match) had superb games. Darley was both persistent and fast with his “from behind tackles” while Meyers was just as effective with “head-ons.” Jared Cooper and Cooper Spalding also had magnificent games as center mid and keeper,respectively. Cooper was inexhaustible, continuing to tackle/play the ball outside right to the very end and Spalding stopped an extremely low, fast ball from a Lakeland penalty kick.

On Saturday the U13 Boys then traveled to Post Falls for an Idaho Thunder rematch; the Strikers outscoring their River City opponents 5-1. Goals were posted by Ben Leas (center mid), Tanner McNelley (also playing center mid/Speakman assist) and Skyler Speakman (playing left mid and pulling off the hat trick). Forwards Stefan Lesniewski and Brett Hutchens would combine for any number of looks and shots on goal and T.J. Kennedy (stopper) both tackled and worked the ball up the center well. Tyler Meyer’s speed was well matched on the right side of the field, but managed also to center the ball numerous times. Cole Golphenee had multiple saves as the second half keeper and Chris Cordova and Mark White both had several breakaways as outside midfielders. Paul Meyers and Cooper Spalding were selected as Men of the Match.

A Kick in the Grass is a coach-submitted column that runs every Thursday during soccer season on the Daily Bee.