Excitement is building as Penticton plays its first Interior Field Lacrosse game at King’s Park in two years.
“I think it is good that we are hosting again. Hopefully, an opportunity for lacrosse people who maybe don’t play field lacrosse to come out and see the game,” said Penticton Heat under-14 coach Dan Chetner.
There is a variety of reasons for Penticton not hosting games, but part of it has to do with centralizing play to reduce travel and other issues.
King’s Park will be filled with action on Oct. 5 as the under-14 squad, with seven wins in eight games, plays its first game at 9:30 a.m. on field two against Kelowna. Then at 2 p.m. they will take on North Okanagan. Penticton’s under-12 team, which is 0-7-1, faces Kelowna at 8 a.m. on field one, then Kamloops on the same field at 3:30 p.m. Games will be played in the U-12 to U-16 level.
Last weekend, Penticton played in Salmon Arm and Kamloops. Losing 8-6 to Kamloops in Salmon Arm, Beau Chetner finished with three goals and two assists, Kale Lawrence with two goals, Ty Ricard one goal, while Matt Carson and Collin Duffield had two assists.
They rolled over Kelowna 14-1 in their other match. Carson led the offence with two goals and seven points, Lawrence netted four goals and added two assists, while Duffield had two goals and an assist. Keegan Allen scored twice, while Connor Ramage, Logan Cote, Matt Marshall and Aiden Warren each scored once.
In Kamloops, the U14 team easily defeated North Okanagan 9-1 and edged Kamloops 8-7. In the 9-1 win, Chetner finished with a goal and five points, Marshall and Duffield had three goals, Carson scored once and added an assist, while Marshall, Warren and Aidan Canada each had one assist.
Against Kamloops, Duffield racked up four goals, while Carson scored twice and Ricard and Lawrence each added a goal.
“I think the fact that we had two close games with Kamloops sort of renews our focus and gives us a reason for trying to our improve our team play,” said Chetner. “We need to find areas where we can execute better than we have been.”
The U12 team coached by Chris Danby lost 10-3 to Kelowna and 12-1 to Kamloops in Salmon Arm.
In Kamloops, they lost 10-3 to Kamloops and earned a 5-5 tie against Kelowna.
Danby’s co-coach Richard Henson said the team played well in Salmon Arm, showing improvement.
“Our players are starting to come together as a team,” said Henson. “At the beginning of the season, our team lost to both Kamloops and Kelowna with a significant point spread. On Sunday, we closed this gap significantly.”
Henson added the players started to believe in themselves and their teammates.
“Most of the players are athletic, but being mentally in the game and having confidence changes how players play,” he said. “This was infectious and now the players know that we can be competitive.”