The Yorkton United U14 Core Real Estate Fury kicked off their 2012 Regina Soccer League season this weekend with two games in Regina, reports coach Chad Grodzinski.
"To cut down on travel costs the team has agreed to play two games in a day when they travel to Regina a tough task in the summer heat butluckily the cloud cover in Regina made perfect soccer weather."
With the weather in check, it was up to the boys and girls (Kendra Varjassyand Allison Berge have joined the team for the Regina League) to showcase their skills on the pitch, Grodzinski points out.
Although the team has only had three practices before the start of the season they player very well and showed a lot of chemistry.
"Most of the team has played together all winter but have had a bit of a break while waiting for the snow to melt and with the addition of a few new players including the two girls as mentioned before I wasn't sure what to expect."
The first game of the afternoon saw Yorkton take on the Moose Jaw Storm.
Yorkton controlled the ball very well in the midfield but just couldn't mount much of an attack in the first half, he said.
In the second half, it was more of the same but a defensive break down led to a Moose Jaw goal, recalls Grodzinski. Although the chances started to come the Fury just couldn't find the back of the net on all their chances but one.
Austin Thomas was able to hammer the ball into the mesh after a missed clearing attempt off a corner kick which tied the game. Moose Jaw however answered back with only a few minutesremainingto steal the 2-1 win.
"Even though it was a loss, I was very happy the way we played and played together.I told the players before the game to play smart out there because we had two games to play and only two substitutes on the bench and I think they did that very well and looked like dominant team out there. I think as the season wears on we will be able to find the scoring that we need."
The second game later that afternoon put Yorkton against the UCT Lightning from Regina.
Due to a short bend, this game wasn't going to be an easy one, there were going to be a few challenges, Grodzinski indicated.
The second game is always a test of the teams endurance and with only two substitutes to draw from the team was hoping that there smart play could continue. It was a littleshaky at the start, but soon the Fury found their pace and started to control the game.
The team lead 2-1 at half with goals from Henry Thomas and Zach Kostersky.
The YUFC Fury continued to play well in the second half and Henry Thomas was able to add one more goal and give Yorkton the 3-1 win.
"It was good to see Henry perform well. Not just because he was able to score two goals but because he is the newest addition to the team and he fit in real well. Actually all of the new additions like Kendra (Varjassy) and Ally (Berge) played well in their positions and Scott Popoff who hasn't played with the team since last summer had set up the second goal so I was very happy with that.
Also, notes Grodzinski, this was the first time the team had to play 11 vs. 11 on a full size field for many of the players and I thought they adjusted well."
The next action for the Yorkton United Core Real Estate Fury is this coming Saturday at 1:00pm in Yorkton at Sacred Heart field.
