Kickers start slow but end on a winning note-Carman Valley Leader

Answering shutout with a shutout
By Gene Still

Friday July 29, 2005
— The Carman Kickers had a busy seven day stretch recently playing four games during that time as the club looked to make up ground lost due to postponed games because of poor, rainy weather this season. Lusitania 4 Kickers 1 Carman travelled to Winnipeg on July 19 for a match up with the Lusitania Revolution. “It was a very even first half,” said Kickers’ Coach William Hoogerdijk. However it was the host Revolution squad that went into the break with a 2-1 lead. Despite being down a goal, Carman came out strong in the final half, matching Lusitania on the field. Things were looking up for the Kickers’ early in the frame as their top scorer Lyle Vanveen was awarded a penalty kick. But it wasn’t meant to be as the Lusitania goalie managed to stop Vanveen and preserve what was at the time, a slim one goal lead. “Your heart drops a little when that happens,” Hoogerdijk said, about their top scorer being stopped when the opposing goalie “guesses right” about which side of the net to dive for when attempting a save on a penalty kick. And the Revolution made them pay as they scored just a few minutes later to take a two-goal lead. They put the game away for good with just over ten minutes remaining in regulation to record a 4-1 victory. Kickers 0 Southport 0 After dropping their previous match, the Kickers were looking to cash in on home field as they returned to Carman two nights later to entertain Southport. Despite the fact that no goals were scored, wasn’t a true indication of what was an evening of offense – or at least offensive scoring chances. “The final score didn’t reflect the play. It was an exciting game,” Hoogerdijk said. “It started like two teams desperate for a win.” The Kickers proved to be the more desperate of the clubs on this night at least when it came to overall serious scoring opportunities. But they weren’t rewarded for their efforts on the scoreboard. “Their goalie was outstanding,” Hoogerdijk said. “We ‘outchanced’ them by around ten to one.” Despite having to settle for a draw, Carman’s coach was happy with the continued improvement of his squad, even if it hasn’t necessarily added up to goals for or points in the standings. “I have to give our guys credit. We’re moving the ball around and playing together,” he said. “I told them, ‘if we continue to play as we have been and keep improving, those chances we’ve been getting will start going in’.” Kildonan 4 Kickers 0 In what was a battle for the eighth place wasn’t much of a contest as the Kildonan Fusion shutout visitors from Carman 4-0. The Kickers went into the July 23 contest leading the Fusion by a single point in the Fourth Division standings. But Kildonan ended up taking the victory and along with it, an important three points in the standings and as a result, a one point lead (at the time) over Carman. Kickers 4 Colo Colo 0 On Monday the Kickers looked to bounce back as Colo Colo came to town. And that’s exactly what happened. Carman came through with an inspired effort to shutout Colo Colo 4-0. Hoogerdijk, who was unable to attended their previous contest with the Fusion said, “The character of a team is shown by how you respond after a game like that (loss against Kildonan).” “We owned most of the play in the first half.” However much like many of their outings this season, it didn’t reflect on the scoresheet as both clubs went into the intermission in a scoreless tie. “They came out much better (to start the game) – but I thought we were just a little too relaxed on defense, not playing as aggressive as we could’ve. “But we corrected that at half-time.” Lyle Vanveen opened the scoring about 20 minutes into the frame with what turned out to be the game winner. Hoogerdijk said while the shot may have bounced off a Colo Colo defender into the opposition’s net, Carman was long overdue for a break like that. Tyson Kamminga made it 2-0 about five minutes later. Vanveen registered his second of the evening ten minutes after Kamminga’s to give the Kickers’ a commanding 3-0 lead. Colo Colo then started to take some chances and went to work trying to apply offensive pressure to get back into the game. But instead, it was first-year player Peter Van Kerkhof who scored at the end of regulation to put an exclamation point on Carman’s 4-0 triumph. Ian Bergsma got the shutout in net. Kickers’ notebook: The win left Carman with a 3-6-2 record good enough for eighth place in the Fourth Division, two points ahead of Kildonan who have a game in hand. Their next scheduled contest was another home date, this time with Ragnarok on July 28. Results were unavailable as of press time.