Stormy weather this past weekend left Powell River Villa unprepared for an aggressive attack from Sooke Loggers.
The visiting Loggers capitalized on two quick tallies in the opening minutes of the first half and went on to hold off the surging Villa offence to gain a hard fought 2-1 victory in Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL) play.
Through the first half Sooke took advantage of the gusty winds to funnel the ball toward their scoring end.
“We got a little caught off guard with the weather,” said coach Chris McDonough, “They had a strong 60 km/h wind behind them, and made it tough for us to knock any long ball with accuracy.”
Villa had to make due with three missing starters, including Kye Taylor, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury from the last match, and Kurtis Dennison, who was out with a calf injury. Jake Kenmuir and Niko Cristante were brought in as game-day substitutes.
The first goal came within two minutes of kickoff and set the tone for the first half. A long kick from midfield into Villa’s end set both clubs racing for the ball, with all eyes on Sooke’s striker.
In a last-second dash the Sooke player came in fast, seizing the ball and kicking it into the net.
“It was a misread in a few different areas by a few different people,” said McDonough.
Sooke’s second goal was a textbook play as their player got behind Powell River defence and finished with a low, hard shot into the corner.
Villa tried to return the favour, but were shut down by a nimble Sooke goaltender.
While the first half was dominated by the wind and Sooke’s aggressive offence, the rain picked up in the second and so did Villa’s willingness to stay in the match, despite the wet and wild conditions.
Powell River made a hard push at the end. Cristante was fouled in the box and awarded a penalty kick with five minutes left in the match. Nick van’t Schip took the kick and scored, putting the match at 2-1.
Several cards were shown by the head official, including a red card against the Sooke defender that led to Villa’s only tally on the day.
A late corner kick in the dying seconds with Sooke down a player was unsuccessful.
“We hurled everything at them,” said McDonough. “It made for an interesting five minutes, but we couldn’t quite finish it off. We had a number of chances that we couldn’t quite find the net on, or hit hard enough on the keeper, it was a little frustrating. But they played well and deserved the win.”
The loss puts Villa into seventh place in the VISL Division 2, trailing Sooke by three points.
Villa will now travel to Victoria for their final match of 2015 against Castaways FC 2 this weekend.
Play is slated to resume in mid-January after the club’s holiday break.
