Williams Lake won the men's event and Winfield PSG the women's tournament at the 25th annual Big Bear soccer tournament in Revelstoke last weekend.
Eleven men’s teams and six women’s teams took part in the weekend tournament, which returned after being cancelled last year. A good crowd of spectators came out to watch the action and enjoy the beer garden and food being served in Queen Elizabeth Park.
The tournament kicked off Friday evening in Queen Elizabeth Park with the Revelstoke men’s team taking on Punjab United from Calgary. The local boys carried the play against the visitors from Calgary, but their only goal came when Jason Johnson fired home a penalty kick early in the first half. Still, it was enough, as Revelstoke ran off with a 1-0 win.
The action resumed Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with both of Revelstoke’s women’s teams in action. Unfortunately, both found themselves on the wrong sides of blowout losses. Infinite Powersports fell 6-1 to Winfield’s PSG, while Mica Heli dropped their opener 4-0 to Kamloops' #Skintags.
Photo: Jason Johnson misses a chance from point-blank range during Revelstoke's opening game against Calgary's Punjab United.
Mica Heli didn’t get much rest before their second game and found themselves on the wrong-side of a 3–2 game against Penticton’s Wolfpack. Meanwhile, Infinite Powersports won their second game over Calgary’s Pink Crush to secure a spot in the semi-finals.
The men’s team kept up their strong play on Saturday with a 2-0 shutout over the Unicorns from Cranbrook. The result earned them a spot in the semis against the powerhouse team from Williams Lake.
On Sunday, Infinite Powersports lost 1-0 to the Wolfpack in the semi-final. They had several chances to score but were unable to penetrate the Penticton defence. Meanwhile, the men found themselves in tough against Williams Lake, the five-time defending champions. Revelstoke battled hard, but wound up losing 1-0.
The women’s final saw PSG down the Wolfpack, while Williams Lake beat Canmore 1-0 to take their sixth consecutive men’s Big Bear title.