Kelowna will be well represented at the B.C. Soccer provincial championships from July 6 to 9.
Kelowna United teams came away from the Thompson Okanagan Youth Soccer League finals with five gold and three silver medals.
As a result, seven KU teams will compete in the Provincial B Cup playdowns, while four KU/Junior Heat teams will travel to Provincial A Cup tournaments.
Here’s a look at final results from the regional playoffs, played primarily in Kamloops last weekend, for a spot at the Provincial B championships.
• U16 boys —Kelowna United captured the TOYSL title with a 2-0 win Sunday over Vernon. James Wiebe and Riley Neal scored the goals, while United’s defense and keeper Tallan Freh earned the shutout.
• U16 girls—Kelowna United used a pair of one goal victories to claim the Thompson Okanagan crown. After a 1-0 victory over Vernon in the semis, United defeated Penticton 2-1 in Sunday’s final game. Kaitlin Smith and Kassandra Zukowski scored Kelowna’s goals to help secure the championship.
• U18 boys—Kelowna United dominated Vernon 8-0 to win the TOYSL title. Goal scorers for United were Mitch Sloan, with two, Jason Hesketh, Connor Sandrin, Taylor Piche, Mason Chidlow, Noah Dueck and Ethan Attwood.
• U18 Girls–Despite coming in second in playdowns losing to Penticton, United U18 girls still earned a berth and will play in the BC Soccer provincials in Surrey.
• U15 boys—Kelowna United won the U15 championship with a 4-0 win over Kamloops. Nathan Gilbert, Jaden Lohn, Kai Hagen and Matteo Sasso-Avila scored the goals, while Eric Dueck made some key saves in the Kelowna net.
• U15 girls—United (Greenhough) opened the TOYSL playdowns with a 4-1 win over Penticton, with Ashlyn Eisenkrein earning a hat trick and Kaley Krivoshein scoring the other. In Sunday’s final, Kelowna fell 3-0 to Kamloops to settle for the silver medal. A second-place showing was enough to qualify the United girls for provincials.
• U13 girls—In an all-Kelowna matchup, the United Storm (Watson) girls edged KU/Junior Heat 2-1 in a shootout. With the win, United will head to Surrey next month for provincials.
The following teams will represent Kelowna at the provincials, July 6 to 9.
• Provincial A Cup (Surrey)—KU/Junior Heat U13 , U14 and U15 boys, and KU/Heat U14 girls
• Provincial B Cup (boys in Vernon, girls in Surrey)—United U15, U16 and U18 boys, and United U13, U15, U16 and U18 girls.
Meanwhile, the United U11 boys had a fun-filled weekend in Revelstoke, winning both their games against Vernon and Revelstoke.
