The Penelakut Island Thunder bounced back from an uncharacteristic loss with three straight victories to claim third place in the 16-team Cowichan Buckskin men’s soccer tournament.
After winning the championship in Victoria and placing second at Saanich in previous tournaments, the Thunder fell out of the running early in the Buckskin tournament following a 4-0 defeat Saturday in the heat against the Kingcome Wolves.
Related story: Thunder rumbles to another soccer championship
“It was a good first half,” said Thunder coach Mark Brown Sr. “We got a couple of bad breaks in the second half.”
The first half was scoreless. The Wolves got on the board with a low shot to the corner early in the second half and the Thunder never recovered.
Two late goals, including a penalty kick, padded the Wolves’ score and made the margin of victory a lot larger than it should have been.
“They’re always right up there,” said Brown of the Wolves. “It’s always real close with them. We let it get away from us a bit.”
The second game Saturday against Gilford Island was more typical of the Thunder during a resounding 6-0 win.
“Gilford Island had a lot of injuries,” noted Brown. “They asked for it to end early.”
Sunday action began with a barn burner for the Thunder against host Quw’utsun that resulted in a 2-1 triumph in the consolation semifinal.
Advancing to the consolation final, the Thunder prevailed easily over Kilgard Warriors from the Abbotsford area 6-1. That game was also called early because of the score and the blistering heat.
“Same situation, we were just dominating the game,” said Brown.
Chehalis Chiefs captured their second title in a row by blanking the Wolves 2-0 in the championship game.
Henry James and Ray Sam were named all-stars from the Thunder.
The team’s next action is in the Seabird Island tournament near Chilliwack May 27-28.
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don.bodger@chemainusvalleycourier.ca
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