Submitted by Chad Grodzinski
The Yorkton United F.C. U14 Fury found some time to play some soccer in between the rain in recent weeks.
The team traveled to Saskatoon the weekend of June 4-6 to take part in the Harder Avalon Classic Soccer Tournament.
The U14 Fury consisted of ten regular squad members, honorary member Rita Fetsch (U14-16 girls team) and five call ups from the Yorkton United U12 team.
All of the guest players were brought up to meet the tournaments requirement of a fifteen player roster.
The first game for the team was early Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. versus the Lakewood Titans from Saskatoon.
This was the first game this season for the Fury and you could tell as Lakewood carried most of the play for the first half. By the end of the first half Yorkton started to find their legs and each other and were able to come out of the half only down 2-1.
In the second half Yorkton began to take control of the game carry most of the play. The Lakewood goalie misplayed the ball and Rita Fetsch scored to tie the game with her second goal of the game. Lakewood however were able to take the lead again off of a beautiful free kick and win the game 3-2.
Yorkton had their chances at the end but couldn't score to recover a win or a tie.
The second game was at 1:20 p.m. versus the Eastside Nighthawks from Saskatoon. Yorkton really had a lot of energy in the game and controlled most of the play taking a 2-0 lead with goals from Matthew McKee and Rita Fetsch. Eastside was able to one in the net before the game was done but it proved not enough as Yorkton came away with a 2-1 victory.
The U14 Fury then had to play their 3rd game of the day at 7:30 p.m. versus Aurora Draco of Saskatoon.
You could tell it was the third game of the day for the squad as the hustle from the afternoon game was no longer with them and they fell 2-0.
This game was much like the first game of the day with Aurora carrying most of the play in the first half and Yorkton coming on strong at the end. Coach Grodzinski was proud to see the team make a comeback at the end coming close to scoring on a number of chances. The 1-0-2 record was enough to give Yorkton a fourth place ranking and a spot in the semi-finals versus Aurora Draco the next morning at 9:40 a.m.
Much like their first meeting the Aurora team came out strong in the first half taking an early 1-0 lead. This game was different in the first meeting as both teams took turns carrying the play. The Fury were able to tie the game late in the second half when Derek Campbell put the ball in the back of the net re-directing a corner kick. The score remained tied at the final whistle and the game was forced into two ten-minute overtime periods with 'Silver goal' rules.
Silver goal means that if a team scores in overtime play continues unlike sudden death or golden goal. Aurora managed to score first in the extra time and hold off for the win as Yorkton had a number of chances to tie up the game but fell short.
Overall Coach Grodzinski was very happy with the results of the tournament. Being that this was their first tournament and first games of the season Yorkton was still able to compete having very close games in all four matches with teams that play regular league games.
The Fury also had to deal with the fact that we had a lot of new faces in the line up and limited practice time due to the rainy weather.
Rita Fetsch lead the tournament in scoring with three goals but Graham Campbell was voted by the players as the tournament M.V.P. for his heart and determination in the defense and mid-field. His play was one of the reasons the team did so well.
The U14 Fury also just recently traveled to Regina June 18-20 to compete in the Queen City Challenge Cup tournament. This time the team consisted of 11 regular squad members and two guest players from the U14 girls squad.
The first game was versus A.C. Pumas from Regina at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Yorkton looked the better of the two teams as they took a 2-0 lead with goals from Matthew McKee and Garett McCallum. But the Pumas we able to capitalize before the end of the half to make the score 2-1 and then another before the final whistle to make the game a 2-2 tie.
Unfortunately for Yorkton, a break down in the first half and some slippery footing caused by mud in the second half was enough to turn a win into a tie.
The Fury's offense had some trouble in the second half finding the net but not the goal posts and crossbars as they hit three of them.
The Fury had a bit of bad luck and a few missed calls as the A.C. keeper handled the ball well outside his eighteen-yard box on two occasions.
The second game was at 3:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon versus S.U.S.C. from Saskatoon.
The S.U.S.C. team had destroyed the Q.C. Green team earlier in the day 7-0 so the Fury were in for a real test in this game.
The Fury managed to limit S.U.S.C.'s chances but they scored two goals before the end of the half. The second goal was what would be labeled as an "own" goal as a shot deflected off one a Fury defender and into the net.
In the second half, Yorkton was able to get a few chances but didn't find the back of the net and Saskatoon added one last goal to hand Yorkton a 3-0 loss.
The third game took place on Sunday morning versus Q.C. Green from Regina.
A win would give Yorkton second place and a spot in the finals. The Y.U.F.C. Fury came out strong and had a number of unsuccessful chances before a break down in communication lead to a Q.C. breakaway and goal. Yorkton again came back with chances on the Q.C. goal but their shots found the keeper and not the back of the net. A late game goal put the game away giving Q.C. the 2-0 win.
Coach Grodzinski was happy with the tournament although he believed that they deserved some better results.
Due to the short summer season and lack of available players this was the U14 Fury's last tournament of the season. The team will continue to practice for the next two months as long as the rain stays away. They will play a few exhibition games in that time and develop our skills that can be carried into the indoor and next outdoor season.
