What started as a walkover, ended in a close game as Sportslife almost squandered a comfortable lead in a 6-3 win over EVF Fuelwood Monday at FH Collins.
However, Jacob Schwinghammer helped his 12-and-under division team stay on top by getting his first hat trick — the game’s first three goals — and then racking up two assists.
“I had a really good game today,” said Schwinghammer. “I think I was just in the right place at the right time.”
After scoring two goals in the first 11 minutes, Schwinghammer put in his third 18 minutes later from a yard out after Fuelwood’s goalkeeper mishandled a mediocre shot.
Sportslife’s goalkeeper, Brendan Gendron, did everything but stand on his head to keep his net empty in the first half.
Gendron made a diving save in the opening minutes, faced the ensuing shots after two indirect kicks from the corner of the goal area and even deflected a shot off his own post before pouncing on the ball as if it was a hand-grenade on his goal-line.
It was only at the 29-minute mark that Fuelwood cracked his force field.
After jumping up to make an overhead save, Emille St. Pierre snatched up the rebound and ripped the ball into the net.
A few minutes before half, Will Rees scored to make it 4-1 on a pass from Schwinghammer.
In the opening of the second half, it was all Fuelwood, keeping the play in Sportslife’s half.
“Everyone was playing their positions,” said EVF Fuelwood assistant coach, Kathy Mather, of the opening of the second half. “Mids weren’t playing forward; the defence was actually playing defence. We had control of the ball and was keeping it in their end.”
However, Sportslife managed to break the growing trend and bring the ball down field for a goal scored by Riley Johnson.
Staying in the game, Fuelwood answered back with a goal minutes latter to bring the score to 5-3.
The goal came when Fuelwood’s Sara Burke-Forsyth intercepted a pass from the Sportslife goalie, rifling the ball right into the mesh.
“That was her first goal ever,” Mather, speaking of Burke-Forsyth, Fuelwoods’ MVP of the game.
“Every game she has improved so much. She, being the typical girl, started defence, defence, defence. But then it was mid, and now she wants to play forward. So she’s really getting more aggressive and into the game.”
Sportslife scored the game’s last goal just seconds before the final whistle.
“We lost the first five games — we did terrible; since then we haven’t lost any,” said Sportslife head coach Martin Raillard, speaking of his team’s four game winning streak. “The team’s really coming together … It’s the first year they play full-field so they didn’t know how to play positions, didn’t know how to pass. They were all just running for the ball; they were all clumped together … Then one game they finally just got it.”
Eldorado Ranch
slices up The Deli
The Deli’s efforts fell short Monday and they lost 4-1 to Eldorado Ranch in the 12-and-under division.
Eldorado got the scoring underway, when Kyle Wallace made a breakaway from midfield and found the back of the Deli’s net.
Tanner Borsa then helped his team by putting two more past the Deli’s goalkeeper.
In a moment of bad luck, as sometimes happens, Eldorado’s last goal travelled into the net after ricocheting off a Deli player.
The Deli avoided the shut out when Jono Runions put a header in.