United kicked by Carman in opener - Portage Daily Graphic

BY RYAN DIXON
Wednesday May 25, 2005

SOUTHPORT — Southport United was second on the scene too often in its first regular season game off the year.Carman Kickers (1-0) downed United 3-1 last night at Southport Recreation Centre to lift the lid on the Manitoba Major Soccer League Fourth Division schedule.A goal from 16-year-old rookie Michael Philipot staked Southport (0-1) to a 1-0 lead roughly 10 minutes into the proceedings, but Carman’s Shane Termeer and Peter VanKerkhof each answered back before the first half concluded.“We felt kind of good in the first 15 minutes,” said Carman coach William Hoogerdijk, adding the Kickers were a little rattled by Philipot’s goal, but settled in to allow them to strike back.Hoogerdijk’s troops carried the play for the bulk of the final 45 minutes, before Joel Bilodeau sealed Southport’s fate with a late-game marker.Bilodeau was essentially able to boot the ball into a yawning cage as United keeper Cory Thiessen, who was playing with an injured shoulder, could not collect a loose ball in the 18-yard box and was caught out of position.According to Southport boss Karl Seidlitz, the first Carman score was also a result of some defensive confusion.“A couple of guys missed their assignments and left them standing there, and the ball didn’t get cleared properly,” he stated.Seidlitz said he was definitely able to extract some positives from the game, but the coach made it clear United has got to be hungrier.“They basically were just playing aggressive and our guys weren’t quite prepared for that,” Seidlitz assessed.“(We have) a lot of guys in their first year. It’s a little adjustment (to senior men’s soccer). That was the main thing. They were on the ball a little faster and if you don’t get the ball, there’s not much you can do with it.”Philipot, who found the net after taking a feed from Mark Nunn which sent him in alone on the Carman keeper, said there is a clear distinction between the minor soccer he has grown up on versus the calibre of play a MMSL game offers.“It’s intense out there,” he stated, adding it will take a couple games for everybody on United to get in the flow.“It’s a new level than what I’m used to playing. This is a step ahead. There’s more talking and a lot more action.”Seidlitz called attention to the play of Southport’s Peter Reimer, who shone in the role of shadow despite not being in peak physical form.“This is a guy who is coming back from a knee injury and he’s hurting, and he had (Carman’s) top striker the whole game,” Seidlitz remarked.“He was hammering away at him getting banged around and he stuck with him and never gave up, so full marks to him.”United will look to bounce back on the road against host Kildonan Fusion on Monday night.