Making his debut for the Cowichan Steelheads, backup goalkeeper Damir Wallener was rewarded for his hard work with a clean sheet as the squad remained undefeated in the Vancouver Island Soccer League masters B division with a 2-0 win over the Fernwood Dragons at Rotary Park last Saturday.
Peter Wynne and Erik Fuller did the scoring for the Steelheads, who improved to 2-0-2 this fall, good enough to sit fourth in the league.
Defender Joel Leech was named team MVP for the game, emblematic of the team's strong defensive effort.
"Our back line was solid once again," player/coach George White said. "Good confidence and better communication overall this week. Very few costly mistakes. Sometimes composure with the ball wasn't all it could be, but work off the ball and stopping the attack was pretty stellar."
Wynne scored his goal on a header, and set up Fuller's insurance marker. With four goals in four games, Wynne is now tied for third in Masters B scoring.
The Steelheads will be at home again this Saturday, playing host to Bays United at 5 p.m. In Div. 2 of the VISL, Cowichan United lost a tight 4-3 decision to Nanaimo United FC, also at Rotary Park last Saturday.
Kodi Archbold opened the scoring 20 minutes in, and after a pair of goals from Kevin Smith late in the first half, Cowichan led 3-1 at the break.
"I felt we where in good shape," coach Ryan Flynn said. "I decided to give some of our starters a break. That didn't work out in our favour. Nothing against the players that went in, but we were too lazy and allowed Nanaimo to pick away."
By the time Flynn got the right lineup back on the field, Nanaimo had scored three times to go ahead.
Cowichan United will play on the road at Prospect Lake this Saturday.