It’s unlikely soccer players from the Bow Valley will be happy to hear the name Williams Lake again anytime soon.
Banff F.C. and Canmore United were both in the hunt for the championship trophy at the Big Bear Soccer Tournament in Revelstoke over the father’s day weekend (June 18-19), and both were denied hardware by a strong Williams Lake side.
In United’s case, Williams Lake stopped the Canmore squad in the final match.
Banff returned to the annual tournament after losing in the final in 2010, and led their group in the round robin stage with a 2-1 victory over Courvas Salmon Arm, on goals by Duncan Clark and Martyn Wuestner, and an easy 4-0 victory over Kelowna’s Betty Swoldoks.
In the quarter-final on Sunday morning (June 19), Clark and Wuestner both struck again in a 2-1 win over the Red Deer Rovers.
Canmore also cruised through the round robin stage, winning 1-0 against a good Vernon side, before beating the Kelowna Rented Mules 2-0.
Karl Albert was pressed into duty in goal for United, and did a good job for the club in his first tournament appearance.
“Karl did really well for us,” said player-coach Martin van den Akker. “He was a bit nervous playing in his first tournament, but he has great hands and he gained confidence after that first game.”
United stumbled in the quarter-final however, and gave away a 3-0 lead to Kelowna I.A. after a couple of defensive lapses, but managed to put away four of five penalties to preserve the win. In the semifinal against rival Vic Van Nelson it was penalties again, and Canmore didn’t miss, winning 5-4.
The overall level of competition has been getting better at Revelstoke in recent years, with more teams from the North Shuswap Soccer League participating, and Banff F.C. manager Mayumi Yasuda was impressed with how her team fared against the B.C. clubs. After a tough loss in the final last year, they were just one goal away from playing in the title game again.
“We had a lot of confidence from last year,” Yasuda said. “The core group is basically the same, and there’s a strong bond and the players trust each on the field. The new players also really fit into the team.”
Unfortunately, they came up against a fit, fast, and organized team from Williams Lake and, after grinding out a 1-1 draw on the strength of a goal from Clark, Banff were eliminated 4-3 on penalties.
Normally a defender, Hikaru Otawa played goal throughout the tournament for F.C. and turned in an outstanding performance in the semifinal, keeping the game close. Clark and Wuestner also played very well for Banff over the four games.
United’s bid to hoist the trophy also came to a halt against Williams Lake. After taking a 1-0 lead in the final on a well struck volley from 20 yard out by Libor Kreml, Canmore were unable to hold off the defending champions, and eventually lost 3-1.
“They were the better team and deserved to win,” van den Akker said after the tournament. “But, I was pleased with the results throughout the weekend.”
Banff F.C. and Canmore United will be back in action in Kimberley, July 16-17.
