Pair of Prince Rupert sides compete at Davis Cup

Prince Rupert’s men’s soccer teams found themselves in tough at the Davis Cup in Terrace last weekend, both suffering some difficult defeats before bowing out of the tournament.

The Prince Rupert FC men’s squad and Kaien Island FC were both part of the 12 team tournament draw. Expectations were high for PRFC after they had a strong third place showing at the Haisla Annual Soccer Tournament last month.

Kaien Island kicked off the tournament with the early Friday night game as they dueled against Gitanyow. Backed by a pair of goals each from Elias Tsakonas and Konur Erkan, the Rupert side came away with a decisive 7-3 victory to kick off the competition.

This earned them a Saturday morning date with Terrace side Northern FC, who were able to dispatch their Prince Rupert neighbours 2-0. Dropped down into the Loser’s Bracket, Kaien Island were knocked out later that afternoon after falling to the Haisla Braves out of Kitimat.

READ MORE: Prince Rupert’s men’s Football Club finishes third in Kitimat

PRFC took to the field early Saturday afternoon against Smithers, who had defeated the Terrace Northmen earlier in the morning. Both teams traded half chances in the opening half as the game went scoreless into the break.

With both teams looking for a breakthrough in the second half, the tension finally gave way when a Smithers player was fouled in the box. There was no mistake made on the ensuing penalty kick, and it would be all Smithers would need to come away with the 1-0 victory.

Both the temperature and tempers flared after the match, as PRFC players argued over who was at fault for the costly penalty. As cooler heads finally prevailed, the team regrouped in anticipation of their early evening match against Inter Sask in the Loser’s Bracket. There was no shortage of offense this time around, as PRFC cruised to a 5-0 win.

The men would not be able to survive Sunday however, and like Kaien Island FC they too fell to Northern FC 2-0.

“We couldn’t overcome a slow start, and injuries had a big part in the loss,” Vern Barker of PRFC said. The team had been reduced to just one substitution for the game.

“I’m certain our fate would have been different without key players going down to injury,” Barker said.

READ MORE: MVP of the Week: “Forge”ing a soccer future in Prince Rupert