Ian Eakins
The Clearwater Secondary School boys' soccer team has had another strong start to its season. Even though seven starters graduated last spring, the team has been able to recruit some good new players and the younger players have stepped up.
Our goaltending has been strong with Nate Wadlegger doing a great job. Our defensive corps has always been tough to beat, with Boden Eakins, Jarius Bromley, Leevon LaVasseur, Tyson Harbridge and Justin Sutherland shutting down the opposing teams. Our mid field has the run of the field with Gareth Hewett, Josh Kiewett, Jared Walker, Lars Wadlegger, and Brenden Mattenley all moving the ball well. On the forward line, the strikers have scored when we needed it most. Thanks to Aiden Sim, Levi Walker, Kieran Green and Lachlan Whelen for providing us with an attacking style of play. Everett Raschke has been a valuable member of the soccer team since Grade 8 and we miss him due to an injury.
We have played five games so far this year. The first game was a 3-1 win over Barriere and the score could have much higher for us. We controlled the game, but had a hard time putting the ball in the net. That is not unusual at the start of the season.
We next played our close rival, Ashcroft, and beat them for the third time a row. It was a 2-0 game and only very good goaltending on their side kept the score close. Later that same day, we defeated Logan Lake 3-0.
Our fourth game was against Kamloops Christian School and we had a very poor showing from our team as we were tired and their field is very small. There was no flow to the game at all and even though we held the edge in play, KCS went up 3-1 with less than five minutes left to play. Our team picked up the tempo near the end of the game and peppered their goal with shots. We got two late goals, one off a rocket from Aiden Sim, and we were able to come out with a tie.
Tuesday, Oct. 8, we played St Anne’s. They are one of the top soccer teams in B.C. and have rarely been defeated. This year, they have been winning games by a wide margin.
Even with three of our starters not playing, we were able to give them a good challenge. The score ended up being 5-2, and two of their goals were avoidable.
Our last season game was against Barriere on Oct. 15. If we beat them, we will go to the Thompson-Okanagan playoffs for the second year in a row.
As always, it has been a pleasure to coach these stellar young players. We may not win the title, but there is a lot of running, laughing, fresh air and friendship along the way.
– Ian Eakins is coach of the CSS boys' soccer team
Below: Jared Walker (c) battles with two St. Ann's players for the ball during a game at Clearwater Secondary School on Tuesday, Oct. 8. Behind them is Josh Kiewitt.
