Valley U-18 boys clinch second in NSSL

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Both Valley United U-18 soccer teams will enter provincials and the Nova Scotia Soccer League championships this weekend on a roll.

The U-18 boys, arguably playing their best soccer of the season, defeated Cape Breton twice on the final weekend of the season to clinch second place in the league standings.

Valley defeated Cape Breton 3-1 Aug. 16, with Matt French, James Nunn and Dylan Short scoring the goals, and then blanked the Capers 6-0 Aug. 17, with Aaron Doucette scoring twice, Jared Hyslop, Steward Henas and Sandy McArthur once each. Andrew MacRae earned the shutout. Valley’s fourth goal was an ‘own goal’ by Cape Breton.

The U-18 boys finished the schedule at 9-4-3, but were 8-1-2 after starting the season 1-3-1. Valley finished with 30 points, eight behind first-place Halifax City, but two ahead of Halifax County (8-4-4) and five up on fourth-place Highland (7-5-4).

As for the U-18 girls, they finished atop their division handily despite suffering their first and only defeat of the season.

Valley lost 2-0 to Cape Breton Aug. 16, but rebounded with a pair of wins over the Capers Sunday by scores of 4-1 and 5-1. Taylor Wade, Robyn McNeill, Lauren Landry and Maia Jorgensen had the Valley goals in the 4-1 win.

In the second game, Landry had three goals, giving her four on the weekend and a league-best 13 on the season, while McNeill and Emma Young netted single markers.

Both the U-18 girls and boys advance to the NSSL playoffs and U-18 Tier 1 provincial championships this weekend, with the U-18 girls hosting their tournament.

Playoff spots on the line

Meanwhile, the Valley U-14 and U-16 teams enter the final weekend of their regular season with two of the four teams virtually assured of a playoff spot.

In their lone weekend game, the U-16 girls played to a 2-2 draw with Halifax City in New Minas. After Halifax took a 2-0 lead, Carly Goodine got Valley on the board and a goal by Jennifer Poirier tied the score.

The point gave the U-16 girls a 6-4-4 record for 22 points, tied for third in their division with Cape Breton. With one regular season game remaining this Sunday, the U-16 girls have achieved their goal of qualifying for post-season play.

The U-16 boys were not as fortunate. Despite a 2-1 win over Dunbrack in their lone weekend game, Valley was in seventh place at 7-7-2 for 23 points with just one regular season game remaining, and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Alex Verge and Charles McNeill had the Valley goals in the win over Dunbrack.

With two regular season games remaining this weekend, the Valley U-14 girls stood third in their division at 9-4-4 and have clinched a playoff berth after splitting their two weekend games.

Kinsella Noseworthy-Smith had the game’s only goal in a 1-0 Valley win over Dunbrack Aug. 16. Vanessa Robertson earned the shutout. The following day, Valley was blanked 3-0 by Halifax County.

The U-14 boys were tied with Halifax County for fourth place (and the final playoff berth) entering play this weekend, with each team having one game left against

second-place Scotia.

The Valley boys didn’t help their playoff chances with a 6-2 loss to South Shore Aug. 17 that dropped their record to 7-5-6. Corey Cadeau and Keifer Levy had the Valley goals.

The final regular season game for the U-14 boys is scheduled for Kentville Aug. 27 at 7 p.m., with a playoff berth likely on the line.

The Valley Kings Arms senior men’s team wrapped up a disappointing regular season with a scoreless draw with Cape Breton Aug. 16 followed by a 3-1 loss to Scotia Aug. 17.

Nick Nightingale had the shutout for Valley against Cape Breton, his second of the season. Jacob Doucet had his team’s lone goal against Highland. Valley finished the year out of the playoffs with a 3-13-4 record, in 10th place in an 11-team league.