Only a strange set of circumstances prevented the Penelakut Island Thunder from capturing its fourth straight soccer tournament title of the year.
After winning two indoor tournaments and one outdoor since the start of 2023, the Thunder went into the Saanich tournament full of confidence, but fell just short.
Related story: Penelakut Thunder rolls to Cowichan indoor soccer title
The Thunder still made the final game of the tournament, but lost 4-3 to host Saanich United to end its impressive streak.
Not having perennial all-star goalkeeper Cordell Jack available didn’t help. He missed the game after receiving a red card in the semifinal.
The Thunder was also without the experience of Patrick Brown and two others due to injury from the previous Easter tournament in Victoria. Otherwise, it might have been a much different story.
Related story: Thunder rumbles to another soccer championship
The Thunder romped to an 8-0 victory in the first game over the Saanich Hornets on the strength of four goals by Melvin Jack and three from Michael Daniels. Shane Brown added a single.
The second game was a test of endurance for the Thunder and the team passed with flying colours in a 3-2 win over the T-Birds, a team comprised of members of the Kingcome Wolves and other nations.
“We played the game a man down for a whole hour,” noted Patrick Brown.
Goalkeeper Cordell Jack handled the ball on a chip from a T-Birds forward and was outside of the box, resulting in the red card.
The Thunder held off the T-Birds with two goals from Ray Sam, including the winner with two minutes left. Kaine Dreaver had the other marker.
The final was a great game despite the odds stacked against the Thunder. The team still managed to take a 2-1 lead into halftime and controlled the game, but defensive errors proved costly.
Saanich scored the winner with just two minutes left on a defensive miscue and the Thunder ran out of time to try and equalize.
Ray Sam, Shane Brown and Travis Brown scored for the Thunder.
All-star awards went to Shane Brown, Michael Daniels and Travis Brown. Roger Charlie received the tournament’s unsung hero award.
Next up is the prestigious Buckskin tournament in Duncan on the Mother’s Day weekend when the Thunder will be looking to flex its championship muscles again.
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don.bodger@chemainusvalleycourier.ca
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