It was a homecoming Isaac Boehmer says he’ll cherish for a very long time.
The Okanagan Falls product and current Vancouver Whitecaps goalkeeper visited his old Pinnacles FC training grounds in Penticton on Wednesday evening, Nov. 22, and met with more than 80 of today’s local soccer youth.
“This is really awesome,” Boehmer, 21, said. “I didn’t think there would be so many people here, it’s a proud moment for me to come back.”
Boehmer moved up to the Whitecaps’ first-team roster in August 2020 and has appeared in four games since.
His Major League Soccer (MLS) debut, in July 2022, was particularly memorable.
Boehmer aided Vancouver to a draw against FC Cincinnati after the team had suffered multiple injuries and fell behind 2-1. The Penticton Christian School alumni entered the MLS game in the 45th minute and would go on to make a number of key saves before the Whitecaps tied it.
His performance prompted Vancouver’s head coach Vanni Sartini to tell reporters after the game that Boehmer was “monumental.”
Boehmer greeted local fans and youth players on Wednesday while reuniting with his old Penticton coaches, including Tom McGill.
“He’s a great kid and the one thing about Isaac is that even at a young age, he wasn’t cocky but he believed in his ability,” said McGill, the head goalkeeper coach in Penticton who previously played the position in Scotland for several years. “I knew he had the potential to go very far and to be honest, he can go even further.”
The Whitecaps goalkeeper was tasked this past July to backstop his team against the Los Angeles Galaxy in Leagues Cup action. He made two saves in Vancouver’s 2-1 victory.
Boehmer started nine games in 2023 with the Whitecaps’ second team and recorded three clean sheets.
In conversation with Black Press, Boehmer discussed Vancouver’s 2023 season, which ended on Nov. 5 when the team was eliminated in the playoffs by Los Angeles FC. The goalkeeper was later offered a contract to return to the team in 2024.
He said there’s no doubt more trips back to his old local training grounds will become more frequent.
“There’s a lot of good players (in Penticton) and it’s so nice to come back and see it all,” Boehmer said. “My parents still reside here, so I’ll definitely be making a lot more trips back.”
Longtime Pinnacles FC head coach Manuel Borba also greeted his former goalkeeper on Wednesday, telling a crowd of about 20 people that Boehmer is a good player and “even better human being.”
The 21-year-old spent more than one hour on Wednesday signing autographs, taking photos and answering questions from local youth athletes.
READ MORE: Penticton’s Isaac Boehmer makes MLS debut with Vancouver Whitecaps