There were wins and losses for the U12 boys and girls Storm soccer teams who both had home games last week.
The boys played Camrose Tuesday, June 2 winning 5-1 with both defensive and offensive lines creating trouble for the visiting team. Ponoka players managed their passes efficiently creating scoring opportunities with the score being 2-0 by the end of the first half.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to put into place all season,” explained coach Cameron Hinton.
He said passing and keeping possession have been a strong focus during training and the game against Camrose showed that players are gaining a strong understanding of those skills.
Most of the second half was a back and forth effort by both teams but Camrose players’ hard work secured their first and only goal of the game. It wasn’t until later in the second half that Ponoka Storm managed to gain a strong lead.
“It was pretty tight up to that point,” said Hinton.
He said the Storm took advantage of unforced errors and capitalized by scoring. “We pounced on the opportunity,” he added.
Goal scorers for Ponoka were Ben Hinton (3), Luis Baitinger and Ayden Peters.
Girls U12 lose to Camrose
Despite losing 5-0 against Camrose June 4, the girls’ U12 Storm had areas of improvement.
Possession fell mostly to the Camrose players who had a strong offensive line that was able to find gaps in the Ponoka defense. At the end of the first half the score was 2-0 with Ponoka hoping to gain some momentum.
Coach Russell Hemingson said his defensive line and goalie are getting better at getting the ball away from the opposition giving Storm players a chance to dribble and pass down the field.
“The second thing is our mid-field has been pretty strong to try to get the ball up to the forwards,” said Hemingson.
While the Storm was unable to capitalize on goals, the defense started to learn and adjust their play to meet the Camrose forwards in the second half. Ponoka players were more purposeful in how they stopped the ball and passed.
“The passing was way better tonight,” said Heminson.
He said players are also working harder at closing the gap between opponents and the ball.
“If we can support our players individually, we can create opportunities to pass the ball,” he added.