The stiff competition in the Okanagan Valley senior AAA boys soccer league was overshadowed by an unfortunate injury and the beautiful game’s overall sense of sportsmanship and camaraderie in Week 4 at Okanagan Mission Secondary.
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In a game involving the host OKM Huskies and the visiting Kelowna Owls on Wednesday, a collision involving the Huskies’ Jadin Sjoquist and the Owls’ Chris West while competing for a 50/50 ball resulted in Sjoquist breaking his right leg.
The force of the two players’ lower legs coming together broke Sjoquist’s tibia and fibula. He was taken to Kelowna General Hospital by ambulance and returned home on Friday.
In a show of support, West and four of his KSS teammates visited Sjoquist on Sunday, delivering an ice cream cake.
Although the OKM/KSS game was called after the incident, with the Owls leading 3-0, and the three points were awarded to the Owls, who moved into second place in the regular-season standings with a 2-0-2 record.
The Owls came out strong early on in the match, with Gregor Smith finishing off a nifty four--pass sequence for what turned out to be the winning goal just five minutes in.
Six minutes later, Emilio Aguair volleyed a cross from eight yards out to beat the OKM keeper while Smith struck again on a breakaway for his second goal.
The win left the Owls two points behind first-place Mt. Boucherie Bears (3-0-1), who posted a 2-1 victory on the same day over the host Rutland Voodoos.
Yves Vercosa scored the deciding goal 20 minutes into the game off a pass from Ethan Furlong while the first MBSS goal came on a penalty shot by Shawn Kostiuk after teammate Josh Clancy had been fouled inside the 18-yard box.
Despite a strong second half that included several quality scoring chances, the Voodoos (2-1-1) managed only a penalty goal by Daniel Pons in the final 45 minutes.
The final regular-season games are scheduled for Tuesday with the Bears expected to clinch first place in their game against the winless Salmon Arm Gold (0-4). The Owls will likely finish second and also earn a bye with Boucherie in the first round of the playoffs when they play host to the NorKam Saints (1-3).
A third game on Tuesday will see Rutland visiting OKM (2-2) in a third-place battle.
The quarter-finals are scheduled for Thursday while the semis go on Nov. 6 and the championship game will be played on Nov. 8.
The league champion will represent the Okanagan at the B.C. School Sports AAA provincial tournament in Burnaby Nov. 22-24.
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