Pioneers End Season on a High Note

Five Game Win Streak Ties Club Record

Sunday March 19:
Delta United 3 Richmond Pioneers 6

Sunday March 26:
Richmond Pioneers 3 Delta United 0

After struggling through most of the season to stay at the .500 mark, the Pioneers hit high gear in March, culminating with back-to-back victories over Delta United to finish the season with five consecutive wins, tying a club record from two season ago.

Having averaged just over two goals a game for most of this season, the Pioneers scored 20 goals in those last 5 games, including, of course, the 5 goals that ended Surrey Classics' three year unbeaten streak.

Game 1 Sunday, March 19: The Pioneers travelled to Ladner to play Delta on the new artificial field at Holly Park. The Pioneers simply overpowered Delta in the opening 25 minutes, scoring four unanswered goals, with Evgeni Kushnir scoring two, along with goals from Ken Johnston and Stan Bogdanovich.

Just before the half, Delta pulled a goal back to make it 4-1. After the break the home team pushed forward with more belief, and the Pioneers paid a price for becoming lackadaisical and Delta pulled two goals back to reduce the deficit to 4-3. With the memory of Delta comebacks in the past, the Pioneeers woke up from their slumber, and put the game beyond reach with a penalty kick goal from Graham Mason, and a fine individual effort from Bogdanovich, his second goal of the game.

Game 2 Sunday, March 26: The schedule makers had the same two teams facing each other in a rematch. Although technically a home game for the Pioneers, the game was switched to Association Park in Ladner. The soft playing surface and a strong wind made the rematch more difficult for the Pioneers, and the only goal of the evenly fought first half was a solo effort by Evgeni Kushnir as he 'outmuscled' a Delta defender.

With the wind now behind the Pioneers, the second half was a different story, as the game was mostly played in the Delta half. Ken Johnston added a second, and after numerous clear cut chances went begging, Kushnir added a third goal—his second—late in the game to give the Pioneers a comfortable 3-0 victory.

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