Category Archives: Division 2

Rino’s Vancouver Soccer Club 2017/18 Season Re-cap

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The 2017/2018 VMSL Season wrapped up with a strong showing from all Rino’s Vancouver SC teams. The premier division Tiger’s team were in the title hunt all season long but were unable to find late season form and ended with a 6th place finish. A slow start from the 2017 3rd place finishing Division 1 side Fury put early doubts of promotion into their minds as they ended up in mid-table at 6th as well. The Division 2 Bulldogs had lots of promising results but carried on in the same style with a 6th place finish. The O35’s captured 3rd with a strong showing in Masters division 1 but it ended up being the old boys in the O45 Masters division, winning their respective league. Congrats to them!

The Tiger’s and Fury will now play in the VMSL Imperial Cup and hope to qualify for the BC Provincial Cup.

Rino’s Fury Finish As Runners Up in BC Soccer Keith Millar Provincial B Cup

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Rino’s Fury had a great run in the 2016 BC Soccer Keith Millar Provincial B Cup. The team cruised through the opening rounds with victories over Norvan Viking Storm and Snipers FC, but were met in the semifinals by a resilient Mundiavocat FC of the BMSL who held them to extra time. In extra time though, the Fury boys proved to be too much for the older Mundiavocat side, as a goal by Kyle Reed opened up the floodgates, and two more goals in short succession powered the team to victory.

The team then traveled to Vancouver Island to face runners of up of VMSL Div 2A, Campo Atletico, in the Provincial Final. It’s unknown whether the travel or unusually early start time wreaked havoc with the Fury lads, but they were simply caught napping as they conceded an early first minute goal when caught out by a long ball to a speedy opposition striker. A second goal conceded on a cross-cum-shot that miraculously found the far top corner put the boys behind 2-0 with only a third of the match completed. A nervy remainder of the first half played out, but no further damage was done. At half time the boys regrouped, and came out with a renewed energy, controlling position and working hard to find inroads to the opposition goal. The Campo keeper pulled off a stunning save on a free kick destined for the bottom corner, and later when Cameron Gibson’s powerful header crashed off the crossbar and the follow up shot was blocked it was clear it wasn’t going to be Rino’s day. As luck would have it, a sharp counter attack by the opposition increased the deficit to 3-0, and it was only late in the game where ageless wonder Ben Cougny managed to setup Alessandro Pace for a consolation goal which he headed into the Campo net with aplomb.

Despite the defeat, the boys were still upbeat after a fantastic promotion season and lengthy Provincial Cup run. After collecting their silver medals, most of the lads spent the night out enjoying pints in downtown Victoria before heading home to Vancouver to recharge over the summer and mount their assault on VMSL Division 1 in the fall.

Fury Provincials

For match reports and highlights of the entire Provincial Cup visit AFTN Canada. Below you can find our posts focusing on the Rino’s Fury matches:
Apr 23: Rino’s Fury 2-0 Norvan Viking Storm
May 1: Rino’s Fury 3-1 Snipers FC
May 8: Mundiavocat FC 0-3 Rino’s Fury
May 14: Campo Atletico 3-1 Rino’s Fury

Rino’s Fury crowned VMSL Division 2 Champions!

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Kicking off the season with a 14 game undefeated streak, including 9 wins on the trot in October and November put Rino’s Fury in pole position to win VMSL Division 2 and gain promotion to Division 1. A late year loss in the final round before the winter break to nearest rivals Vancouver Strikers meant the pressure was on for the boys to maintain their lead in the New Year. The boys rattled off another 5 wins in 6 matches including an epic 5-3 come from behind victory over America FC, and travelling to Squamish to grind out a 1-0 win before heading to Whistler to celebrate. So on March 6, when Vancouver United FC rolled up to the Fury’s home ground, Point Grey Secondary, the Rino’s lads were feeling full of confidence, and treated their spectators to a 5-star performance as they secured the championship with a brilliant 5-1 victory. A pair of goalazos by Brooks Van Stavel and Cameron Gibson really put the gloss on the day as the champagne bottles were popped, and the celebrations began with other teams in the division unable to catch the Fury’s 54 point total despite some having as many as 3 games remaining to play.

Rino's Fury Celebration

The management duo of Andy Norton and Derrick Freedman thanked the lads for their commitment over the course of the season, and look set to guide the team to a strong run in the BC Soccer Provincial Cup starting in mid-April.

Rino’s Fury to Host Opening Round Provincial Cup Match

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Rino’s Fury have qualified for a second consecutive appearance in the Keith Millar Provincial B Cup, and once again have drawn opposition from the Vancouver Metro Soccer League. After bowing out in a penalty shootout to Sarajevo FC last season, the boys will be hoping for better luck as they host Vancouver-based rivals Bombastic SC. The match will take place 2pm, Sunday April 6 at Point Grey Secondary with the winners advancing to face Europa FC of the Burnaby Metro Soccer League. Come on out and support the team!

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Div 2 – Match 3 – 2013/14 – GFC United Lions

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The Fury finally found their scoring touch this weekend with a 5-0 thumping of GFC United Lions on Saturday at Memorial Turf South.

After a somewhat shaky start, the team in blue began to control the play and create chances. With only 2 goals in 2 games, it was necessary that they start to take advantage of scoring opportunities. Striker Cougny got them off the mark after a through ball played him in on a breakaway. He neatly tucked in under the keeper and put the Fury up by 1. Not too long after, they went up 2 on a brilliant team goal that saw a nice ball played into Cougny in the 18 yard box, who layed it off for an oncoming Arceneaux who side footed it past a outstretched keeper into the upper right part of the net. Arceneaux had redeemed himself after missing a chance earlier with his weaker left foot on a shot from a similar position. On another nice team play 10 minutes after that, he had another chance on his right foot again, but missed a nicely placed shot just wide. A first half hat trick and Fury scoring lead could of been his. Five minutes before half, it was 3-0 after Atkinson, who beat the offside trap, played a square ball into italian striker Pace, who had time to collect the ball and read a newspaper before slotting it past the keeper.

A comfortable lead at half time meant the hair dryer was unnecessary for the team talk from the coach. The instructions were to continue pressing.

With the Lions tiring, it was all the well conditioned Rinos after the break.   A few new substitutions were introduced which added to the offensive game plan that was causing the Lions all sorts of problems. 10 minutes into the half, Pace got his second of the game, who was johnny on the spot with another cross into the box that was easily put home. A few nice saves from the Lions keeper kept the game from becoming a blowout, including a spectacular one on Hanson’s “Bread n Butter” outside of the foot curler on a free kick from about 25 yards.

Substitute Kaplan brought new life into the game with a second half appearance that produced  the goal of the game. In the 65th minute, a ball was played into Kaplan just outside of the 18. A nice turn and a wonderous curving left footed shot from the right side found it’s way off the post and into the net, showing off his ambidextrous abilities. A number of chances went begging after that, keeping the score in single digits. Once again, the opposition were limited to a few half chances which caused little problems for keeper Verbeek, picking up his second clean sheet of the year, thanks to a solid back line. A hard, encouraging 90 minutes were played out that should breed confidence for the Fury going forward into the next games this season.

Goal of the Match: Max Kaplan

Team: Verbeek, Jefford (Hawkins), Hanson, O’Carroll, Gazin (Orech), Atkinson, Arceneaux, Wilhelm, Bradbury(Shih), Pace (Crowe), Cougny (Kaplan)

Goals:  Cougny, Arceneaux, Pace (2), Kaplan

Assists: Cougny, Pace, Hawkins, Shih, Atkinson

The next match against FC Romania will be played Sunday September 29th @ 4pm, Point Grey Turf.

Div 2 Match 2 2013/14 – Caspian FC

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Rino’s Fury 1 – 0 Caspian FC

In the second match of the season, Rino’s Fury faced Div 2 debutantes Caspian FC, who’s staunch defending proved a tough nut to crack.  Eventually a fine bit of service from Rino’s new-boy Diego Marchi was spectacularly finished by Ian Solven to give Rino’s the all important 3 points.

The match began with the Fury boys dominating possession.  Caspian it seemed were content to play with 11 men behind the ball, waiting for an opportunity on the counter.  The centre back pairing of O’Carroll and Hanson were again dominant in the air, limiting the Caspian forays forward which were often based on a long ball to chase.  In fact the only chance Caspian had in the first half came from an errant goal kick by goalkeeper Verbeek who was clearly put off by the paparazzi filming his every move.  Fortunately for him the Caspian forward spared his blushes by missing the net with his strike that was a good 10 feet wide.  Rino’s most notable chance came on a well worked move up the left side of the pitch.  The ball was pulled back towards the top of the penalty area and a low drive from Wilhelm was smartly saved by the Caspian keeper.  Despite the dominance in possession which was roughly 70-30 in favour of the home side, they lacked the cutting edge and came off the pitch at half time with the scores knotted at 0-0.

A shift in formation saw Rino’s return to the pitch for the second half in a 4-4-2 and instructions from the manager to focus on wing play and a focus on attacking the far post.  Substitutions saw the introduction of Diego Marchi and Emmanuel Orech, both who would play key roles in the remainder of the match.  In fact, it took less than 15 minutes for Marchi to make his impact as he whipped a cross towards the far post that striker Ian Solven powered into the net beyond the bewildered Caspian keeper.  With the deadlock finally broken, Caspian began to throw men forward and space began to open up on the field.  A fine throughball found Orech in behind the Caspian defence, but in rounding the keeper his touch was heavy and it was all he could do to keep the ball from crossing the endline, nevermind getting a sight of the gaping net.  A Caspain free kick from 35 yards was driven towards the top corner, and Verbeek did well to catch and hold it.  The teams traded chances again as a Caspian corner kick was headed at the near post, deflected by Verbeek, and cleared off the line by Orech.  Shortly after that a Rino’s counter attack saw substitute Crowe running at the Caspian defence and taken down by their last man just outside the penalty area.  The referee however only opted to issue a caution to the Caspian defender and Rino’s attempt at the free kick was wasted.  Rino’s then held firm for the remaining minutes and celebrated their first victory and clean sheet of the season.

Man of the Match: Keith O’Carroll

Team:  Verbeek, Gazin, Hanson, O’Carroll, Hawkins (Marchi), Wilhelm, Sanders (Arceneaux), Cougny (Crowe), Pace (Orech), Bradbury, Solven (Packham)

Goals: Ian Solven

Assists: Diego Marchi

Div 2 – Match 1 – 2013/14 – NK Hrvat

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Rino’s Fury 1 – NK Hrvat -1

The much anticipated 2013/14 season kicked off Saturday with an afternoon fixture away to NK Hrvat at Memorial Turf. The newly demoted Div 1 side would prove to be a good first test for the Fury. With a tough pre-season camp and a few new international DP additions to the squad (Keith O’Carroll, Guy Packham and Diego Marchi), the team looked to improve on last years season and challenge for promotion once again . First teamer, Brent Hanson also joined the squad after long-term injury struggles held him out of action last season, no doubt bolstering the Fury back line this year. A couple of missing players this year were stand out winger, Francois Clark, defender Evan Jones and last years captain, Vincent Martin, definitely leaving a hole to fill for this years squad.

The game got underway with a strong start by the Fury, showing early signs of composure, hustle and a team-first mentality, putting NK Hrvat on the backheel. A few decent chances were created, but the Fury were unable to capitalize on them. Strong defensive play, left Hrvat with little, opportunity to create anything dangerous going forward. In the 30th minute, Fury midfielder Francarlos Leon was given a (questionable) straight red after a coming together in the Hrvat 6 yard box. A man down with an hour to go would be a tough test to start the season for any team, but this only seemed to spark the Fury into action. A physical game continued into half time with a 0-0 scoreline.

NK Hrvat came out strong in the 2nd half, starting to show signs of being a man up. 5 minutes in, a nice passing play by the opposition ended with a cross into the box that bounced around and was unable to be cleared, only to fall to a Hrvat midfielder at the top of the box who smashed it through several bodies and made it through goalkeeper Nathan Verbeeks legs, barely seeing it.

The game shifted a bit as Hrvat seemed content with holding onto the dangerous 1-0 lead. The Fury pressed for an equalizer but came up short on a few occasions. A scrappy game continued with a few more yellows being handed out. On a 70th minute corner, the big defensive pairing of Hanson and O’Carroll combined for the Fury’s first goal of the 21013/14 season. A beautifully whipped in corner by Wilhelm to the far post was headed back across goal by O’Carroll, where a waiting Hanson was there to pounce on it and blasted a well placed shot into the right side of the net. The Rino’s men continued to push for 3 points, seemingly unsatisfied with a tie, finding weaknesses in the Hrvat defense. Strong play by second half sub, Packham, earning his first cap, impressed with composure and provided several quality balls up to strikers and wingers creating chances to take the lead. In the 85th minute, 3

points were surely locked up as a shot by striker Cougny was parried to Shih who missed from close range, unable to complete the comeback.

The fans were pleased as the final whistle blew. A quality performance by the Rino’s Fury to build on as the season progresses.

Man of the Match: Keith O’Carroll

Team: Verbeek, Atkinson (Packham), Hanson, O’Carroll, Hawkins, Cougny, Sanders (Arceneaux), Leon, Wilhelm (Sanders), Pace, Solven (Shih)

Goals: Brent Hanson

Assists: Keith O’Carroll

 

The next match against Caspian FC will be played Sunday September 15th @ 4pm, Point Grey Turf.

Provincial Cup Dream Over, But Summer Soccer Awaits

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Rino’s supporters were treated to 240 minutes of non-stop action this past Sunday as the fighting spirit of both Rino’s Fury and U-21 squads produced a pair of thrilling extra time affairs in the BCSA Provincial Cup.

The U-21’s kicked things off in the early match vs. Estrella de Chile. Rino’s boys controlled the tempo in the first half, but seemed to lack the cutting edge in the final third of the pitch. As luck would have it, Chile opened the scoring early in the 2nd half as a counter attack down the right flank lead to their player sliding the ball under the onrushing keeper. Rino’s were quick to reply as Grayson Allen latched onto a ball in the Chile penalty area and calmly deposited it in the net. Despite some good chances for both teams, neither could convert and the match went to extra time.

Chile struck first in the extra time period as their speedy substitute raced in on a breakaway and beat Rino’s goalkeeper Justin Roets. At this point the match went end-to-end with both teams taking turns attacking. Shortly thereafter, the same player repeated the feat, giving Chile a 3-1 lead. At this point the game really opened up and both teams took turns going on the attack. Into the second period of extra time, Rino’s mounted a great deal of pressure, which finally paid off in the form of a second goal for Grayson Allen, assisted by Konstantin Vasic who had pushed up from his centre back position. Rino’s kept pushing to the end, but couldn’t manage to draw level, and fell as the hard luck losers by a 3-2 scoreline.

The second match featured Rino’s Fury against VMSL Division 2A winners, Sarajevo FC. The Fury had a poor start to the match, conceding 2 goals in the first 30 minutes as the direct attacking soccer played by Sarajevo caused problems for their backline. After the halftime break, the Fury emerged like a new team, controlling the play with incisive passing and looking likely to score. The goals came courtesy of Cory Matheson, who was twice setup by Vinny Martin to draw the game level at 2-2. The pace of the game started to slow down, as both teams began committing unnecessary fouls, and a number of bookings were made by the referee. Then out of nowhere with just minutes left, Sarajevo’s #9 wriggled free of his marker and slotted Sarajevo into the lead. A defender was sacrificed for an extra forward as Rino’s Fury pushed for yet another equalizer. Ian Solven won a corner and all 11 Rino’s players pushed into the attacking half. As Vinny Martin’s corner kick swung into the box Ryan Arceneaux rose majestically above everyone and powered a header off the underside of the crossbar and into the net, knotting the score at 3-3!

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As the teams returned to half, an altercation occurred, and each team had a player dismissed. When the kickoff took place, the fulltime whistle sounded and extra time beckoned. In the extra time period, Rino’s fitness appeared to be an advantage as high pressure lead to the Sarajevo keeper misplaying the ball near the top of the penalty area. The miscue lead to a great opportunity for striker Ian Solven, but he overhit his shot and sailed over the unguarded net. Sarajevo had their own chance to take the lead as a long free kick deflected off the fist of Nathan Verbeek and crashed off the left goalpost. With no one able to finish, the match went to the dread penalty shootout. Sarajevo shot first, and it was their keeper who blazed over with the first shot. He did however make amends with a smart save to his right on the Rino’s first shot. Both 2nd shooters scored, and it looked to be a tight battle. However, it was not to be as consecutive misses by Rino’s and successful penalties by Sarajevo eliminated them from the competition. It should be noted that folks from AFTN Canada were on hand, and compiled a first round wrap-up which includes a detailed report of this match.

The club now looks forward to participating in the 33rd edition of the Richmond Regional Soccer League. Matches kickoff next week with our Div 1 entry playing Ajyal Tigers on Thursday April 25, and Div 2 squad facing Richmond All Blacks on Tuesday April 23. Both of which are teams still alive in Provincial Cup Competition!

Two Rino’s Squads Set for Provincial Cup Kickoff This Sunday

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Rino’s U-21 team have known for months that they would have a spot in this year’s BC Soccer Provincial Cup tournament. The early acknowledgment came as a result of a diminished FVSL division which fielded only 4 teams for the 2012/13 season, opening up extra spots for the competitive VMSL teams. Meanwhile, the VMSL Div 2 Rino’s Fury find themselves in a totally contrasting situation. Having feasted upon a little too much Christmas Turkey, the team posted a poor 1-2 record in January and slipped from the top of the table into a 3-way tie for second, missing out on promotion to Division 1. That poor league form was followed up by a first round cup exit, and the boys were waxing their skis/snowboards ready to hit the slopes for what was left of the winter.

Those plans changed abruptly when the league informed Rino’s that they were to contest a single match playoff against arch-nemesis Dasmesh FC for a spot in the Keith Millar Provincial B Cup. The playoff was deemed necessary due to irregularities found in the transfer market by Gastown FC, who were summarily barred from Provincial competition. The case has now been forwarded to FIFA to see if a transfer ban will be imposed on them during the summer window.

The playoff match was held at Andy Livingstone on Saturday March 16 and young veteran, Vincent Martin, turned back the clock with a lively performance that saw him pop up in the right spot to net 2 goals in a 2-1 victory over Dasmesh. The BCSA Senior Mens Provincial Cup Draw was then held on April 2 in Victoria, and saw both Rino’s squad draw familiar VMSL opposition. The Fury were drawn against Sarajevo FC, who they’ve met many times in seasons past. Meanwhile the U-21’s drew Estrella de Chile, with whom they split the season series with one win apiece.

The matches will take place on Sunday April 14 at Andy Livingstone. The U-21’s kickoff at 12:30pm, followed by the Fury at 3:00pm. Both teams are hoping for a solid turnout from the home supporters.

Rino’s Fury 2012/13 Season Re-cap

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The Rino’s Fury ended their season on Saturday in a 0-1 Cup loss to the Richmond Olympics. This normally would of sent them off to the golf courses with their usual long cup runs going well into March, but it seems they will be sent to the slopes with the ski season still in full flight.

It was a lackluster end to a year full of promise. Pundits predicting a successful promotion campaign, put pressure on the Rino’s Fury to live up to this expectation. With the team still finding their feet to start the league, a few hiccups early on against easier opponents, which had also been the case in years past, prompted another hole to be dug out of. From there the real season began with better team performances and standout individual play, starting an undefeated streak of 14 games to land the Fury in 1st place.  A number of ties limited the potential point tally, but it looked optimistic going in the final third of league play.

As the season progressed, a few notable injuries and departures to the Rinos squad took it’s toll and required re-enforcements to be brought in. Perhaps this led to inconsistent performances, with players struggling to build chemistry beside new faces required changes to the structure of the team down the final stretch .  At times, the Fury were unstoppable, controlling the game and playing composed soccer worthy of moving up a division. Other times they looked out of sorts, finding it difficult to create anything going forward.

With 3 teams fighting for the single promotion spot, it was only right that the last two games of league play were against these teams, both on home soil. With the season on the line, a Sunday fixture against Gastown FC brought nerves and excitement to a game that would decide which team would be playing in  Division 1 and the increased TV revenues that go along with it next fall (actually the addition of linesmen in this league is way better than money). Unfortunately, it was a game to be forgotten.  A 0-3 deserved loss brought the the Fury’s hopes crashing down. It would be another season in Div 2.

The Point Greysiders supporters club commented on the season. “We are proud of the mighty Fury, showing class through long stretches and the club record 14-game unbeaten streak. It was a devastating end to a bright looking season. We will always continue to support the team and look forward to a strong showing in the Summer league and for the boys to come out fighting in  2013/14”.

A team full of talent and potential, expected to move up will likely see big money transfers into higher divisions. The nature of this business.