Bow Valley League - Week Two

Week two of BVSL action was held at Millennium Park in Canmore due to high water levels in Banff

By Jamey Glasnovic
canmore leader staff
Wednesday June 13, 2007

Lake Louise and Chili’s failed to advance out of the first round of the season opening mini tournament hosted by the Bow Valley Soccer League two weeks ago. In fact, neither team managed a goal before being eliminated from the competition.

But Sunday was redemption day as both clubs proved a capable and dangerous opponent who should be taken seriously on game day.

Due to flooding in Banff, week two’s games were moved from the Recreation Grounds to Canmore’s Millennium Park, and in the early match Chili’s took advantage of a rusty Rimrock side, which had yet to play a competitive contest this season.

Chili’s forward Glen Dressler scored in the 5th and 35th minutes to set the pace, but it was the experience of newcomers Mike Manka and Rudolf Popovsky who helped stabilize the shape of the squad. It allowed Chili’s more ball possession and a more direct attack than has been available to them in recent years.

Chili’s tacked on two more quick goals before the break and Jason Armstrong pulled one back in the 47th to give the Rimrock some life. But in the end the Chili’s squad were too strong and they walked off as victors 8-1 after 90 minutes.

In the late game, Canmore FC survived a scare from an energetic and determined Lake Louise side fresh off a 7-0 shellacking at the hands of Pika in week one.

After a frantic opening five minutes that saw opportunities at both ends of the park, the Lake’s Pio Fernandez jumped on a defensive miscue in the 9th and buried the ball in the lower left-hand corner of the net past Canmore keeper Stephen Steel.

In the 26th Ivan Babikov knotted things up for Canmore from the penalty spot, but it wasn’t until the 83rd minute, when 15 year old Ryan McQueen buried a loose ball from seven yards out on a quick counter attack that the points looked secure for Canmore.

Ben Kemp added some insurance in the 90th to make it 3-1, but Chelsea Aboud’s solid performance in goal for Lake Louise very nearly stole a point for the most recent addition to the league.

Goals in the first eight minutes by Koji Uda and Hiro Shinozaki helped Pika squeak past the Banff Springs 2-1. Steve Mills counted for the Springs in the 88th minute in the evenly played contest, but superb defensive play by Hikaru Otawa and Kazuya Nakazawa in the middle of the backline kept the Springs attack at bay for most of the afternoon.

Father’s Day weekend is a busy one for men’s soccer in the Valley, as the league hosts three games at the Recreation Grounds in Banff, and Canmore United travels to Revelstoke for the Big Bear Invitational.

Banff based players looking for a team to play with are invited to contact Tory Wintemute of Chili’s at twintemute@bestofbanff.com, or Lorne Langevin of Rimrock at lornelangevin@hotmail.com.