By John DeCoste
Valley United remained undefeated on the 2012 season in the Men’s Premiership Division of the Nova Scotia Soccer League following a 2-1 win over Suburban June 24 on Acadia’s Raymond Field.
Valley United, which improved to 4-0-1 with the win, had a tough time putting away the last-place Suburban squad, which played tough despite a disadvantage in field position and took a 1-0 lead with a goal late in the first half.
Valley, however, rebounded after the intermission, retaking the lead – and securing the victory – on second half goals by Ben Gravel and Dylan Sheehan.
On June 16, the senior men topped Dartmouth 3-1, with Sheehan scoring twice and Cochrane Noseworthy-Smith netting the other goal. As of June 25, Sheehan was tied for the league lead in goals with five in five games.
The Valley senior women, meanwhile, have hit a rough patch after a fast start to the season, and stood at 3-3-2, good for fifth place in a really competitive division (as of June 25, just four points separated the top five teams).
The Valley women dropped a pair of games on the June 16-17 weekend, 2-1 to Halifax City June 16 (Chantelle Cadeau had the Valley goal) and 1-0 to Halifax County June 17. Valley did not play June 23-24.
The Valley United U-18 teams were both hanging tough in their divisions. The U-18 girls were at 3-1-3, good for third in their division, while the U-18 boys were also third despite a 2-4-2 record.
The U-18 boys played to a 1-1 draw with South Shore June 17 at Centre, Lunenburg County. Ben Nelson had the lone Valley goal.
The U-18 girls saw their last action June 16 when they blanked Dunbrack 3-0, with Alanda Cress scoring twice and Jessica Shaffelburg once. Emma Connell recorded the shutout.
The Valley U-16 teams, meanwhile, were having less successful seasons. The U-16 girls were at 0-2-1, seventh in their division, while the U-16 boys, winless in three games so far, were eight and last in theirs.
In their last action June 17, the U-16 boys lost 2-0 to Dunbrack, while the U-16 girls dropped a 5-0 decision, also to Dunbrack.
The Valley U-14A girls were third in their division at 2-0-3 following a hard-fought 2-2 draw with first-place Halifax County June 24 in Wolfville.
Shay-Leigh Beaton and Mariah Carey had the goals for Valley, which fought back from a 2-0 deficit. Carey scored the tying goal with three minutes remaining.
On June 17, the U-14A girls played to a 1-1 draw with Dartmouth, with Gabi Clark scoring the Valley goal.
The U-14A boys were at 0-5-2 on the season, tied for sixth in their division, following a 3-0 loss to Dartmouth June 24 in Wolfville.
The U-14B boys were sixth in their division at 1-6-1 after dropping a 7-1 decision to X FC June 23 in New Minas. Bronson Ward had the lone Valley goal, which opened the scoring and staked his team to a 1-0 halftime lead.
On June 17 in Dartmouth, the U-14B boys dropped a 3-1 decision to Dartmouth, with Zachary Forsythe scoring the lone Valley goal.
More information on the NSSL schedule is available on the league website and www.valleyunited.ca.
