Upper Island Riptides put forth a strong effort to earn a lopsided 5-0 victory over a young Nanaimo Storm side in Vancouver Island Premier League (VIPL) U15 Boys’ soccer action.
The match took place on a gorgeous pitch at Sunset Park graced with wispy silhouettes of towering Douglas firs. Play began with a relentless offensive charge by the Riptides. It was highlighted by a behind-the-back scissor kick by irrepressible Travis Brown that missed by inches and two wide open breakaways by Derek Mellish only to be stopped by the outstanding play of Nanaimo’s goalkeeper.
Riptides opened scoring just prior to halftime with Powell River’s Ben Payne’s 32-metre penalty kick that sailed over a five-man wall and curved just out of the goalkeeper’s range.
Mellish’s offensive efforts were finally rewarded early in the second half when a sharp-angled shot somehow found room past the goalkeeper on the short side. Adding to the scoring was Cole Freeman’s miracle of deking past two charging Nanaimo defenders then softly directing the ball into the bottom left corner, and a similar ball handling act by Freeman that resulted in another short range attempt that ended in a goal. Travis Brown capped the scoring with an excellent penalty kick goal from 29 meters out.
Without question, the man of the match was the under-aged Nanaimo goalkeeper. Massively out shot yet highlight save followed by highlight save kept the score much closer than play would suggest.
This win brings the Riptides to 5-0 with a showdown versus the powerful and undefeated Saanich Fusion on November 6 in Comox at Valley View field three. The Fusion has outscored its opposition 17-2.
“An undefeated start to the season places a big target on our back,” said Riptides coach Henry Roller following the match. “Going forward, every game our opponents will be putting out their best effort and we will need to up our game to equal the challenge.”
VIPL is Tier II soccer and comprised of seven regionally based teams. Victoria offers four sides along with Cowichan, Nanaimo and Upper Island. The Upper Island (UI) Riptides is made up of players from Comox Valley, Campbell River, Powell River and Texada Island.
