The Howe Sound Men's Soccer League (HSMSL) started its regular season with three lopsided victories at Brennan Park on Sunday (Sept. 7).With various roster changes around the league, the seven teams are looking a bit different than last year. In one of the first early games, the Quest Kermodes surprised the defending league champions United FC with a 4-0 opening effort. Dustin Wallington scored three goals while Kyle Thorau added a single.The Kermodes team, which has been practicing and playing exhibition games for the last three weeks, was simply too prepared for the short-benched United FC team, said coach Adam Day."We're just too fit for them," he said watching from the sidelines. "They were done in the first 30 minutes."United FC was hit with two red cards - a tough blow to a team already missing a number of players. Forward Jet Lee said the squad just couldn't build any momentum while trying to cover the field."Obviously there was a lot of space out there that we were trying to fill," he said. "But they're way better than last year. We used to kill them."Meanwhile, Ellis Moving and Lil'wat battled it out to a 1-1 score going into the second half. Johnson Narcisse scored for Lil'wat early before Chris Wentworth knocked in a centered ball as keeper Ryan Aldridge came out to challenge."It wasn't pretty," said Wentworth. "It was kind of an ugly goal actually."Ellis turned up the heat in the second half. Former Villa FC player Chris Golaiy had a steady war of words with Aldridge and ended up coming out on top with four goals. One of the prettiest goals started with a well-placed cross from former Whistler FC player Mark Sedgewick, which Golaiy knocked in with a header.With at least six Ellis players also donning Squamish FC jerseys this season in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League (VMSL), the squad is now a serious contender for the Premiership Cup, said Golaiy, adding that the guys didn't lose much momentum in the off-season."This game does come natural to you when you've been playing it for a number of years," he said. "The squad that we're carrying this year for Ellis, it's a good squad to go to the championship. I'd say we are a stacked team this season."In the third and last game, Todd Vass scored three goals to help Canex (formerly Villa FC) beat Tantalus Toner 5-0. League action continues Sunday (Sept. 14) with three games at 10 a.m. Lil'wat takes on Canex, Tantalus Toner faces Quest University and United FC clashes with Ellis.
