Powell River United over 35 men’s soccer team started the new year off by travelling to Nanaimo to play in an exhibition game against Nanaimo United FC.
Nanaimo currently sits in second place in the Masters ‘A’ Division of Vancouver Island Soccer League and was a good way for Powell River to gage where it stands in respect to the Lower Island teams that it could meet in the upcoming Tony Grover Cup playoffs.
The game started with Nanaimo moving the ball well and having the majority of possession. Powell River kept its back line organized and defended well keeping the shots on goal to zero. With its organized play, the team began to take over some of the possession, resulting in a few good chances on net.
Both teams played great soccer for the majority of the first half but the scoring opened up late in the half for Powell River when defender Robbie Veenhof sent a beautiful 45-yard pass to Dean Piccinin who calmly drilled the ball into the back of the net rippling the mesh and giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.
The second half began with Powell River being rewarded when Paul “PO” Merrien had a great first touch on the ball, flicking it to himself, beating the defender and placing the ball into the net for 2-0.
Play went back and forth with both teams moving the ball and Powell River defending well.
Hard work again paid off for the visitors when they took a 3-0 lead after a nice ball was crossed in from Tony Rice to a waiting Darren Mousseau who sent the ball past a diving Nanaimo keeper and into the net.
The home team seemed to gain some possession for the last 15 minutes of the game and had a couple of great chances on net but all were turned away by Powell River’s keeper Jacob Hanson who kept the score sheet clean after making a great diving save of a ball labelled for the top corner.
The game ended with the visitors taking a 3-0 win and starting off the new year on the right foot.
Nanaimo will visit Powell River in the near future for a game yet to be announced.
