PRESCOTT – Ending on a high note, the South Dundas United U11 team closed out the competitive friendly season with a 2-1 win over Prescott July 26.
“The team really played well tonight. They took everything they’ve learned this season and put it together on the field,” said team coach Phillip Blancher. “I couldn’t have asked for a better game, or a better result.”
Despite a number of scoring opportunities by United, Prescott took a 1-0 lead late in the first half of the match.
Early in the second half, forward Taylor Cochrane scored the tying goal from a pass by Lennox Corneau.
“Prescott wasn’t making it easy on us. Once we tied the match, their attackers kept pushing into our end of the pitch, pressuring to get a shot on goal,” Blancher explained. “Our defence really worked well together. They stopped Prescott’s momentum in our end.”
Goalkeeping played a factor in the game too. Will Cummings stopped eight shots on target, four in each half.
“Will played great out there and made some really great saves out there,” Blancher said. “Defence wins games and our defence and goalkeeping were right where we needed them.”
United made a few runs into Prescott’s end of the pitch but bided their time for the right opportunity. The team’s patience paid off with less than four minutes remaining in the game. The ball was sent through to Talon Brundige, who had a breakaway on Prescott’s goal, feigning the keeper to the right side then shooting left side to score. South Dundas led 2-1.
The team quickly changed to a more defensive formation and held out for the remaining three minutes of the game, and the 2-1 win.
The U11 team closes out with a .500 record (1-1-0) in competitive friendlies this year. The U14 match scheduled for July 28 was cancelled due to weather and pitch conditions.
South Dundas United is the competitive soccer side of the South Dundas Soccer Association. In an effort to rebuild interest in competitive soccer, the club attempted to schedule friendly (non-league) competitions against neighbouring clubs this year with the aim to re-enter league competition in 2023.
The club fielded three co-ed teams (U11, U14, U18) and drew on players from the SDSA development program. This year 44 players from the SDSA were involved in the SDU teams.
“There was a lot of interest and commitment from players on the United teams,” Blancher said. “While I am disappointed we couldn’t get as many games scheduled as I initially thought we could, the playing opportunities we had combined with the extra practices and training give us a great foundation to return to competitive league play next year.”
