Bittersweet Silver

By Davie Wong

The Men's Soccer team entered the PACWEST Provincial Championships seeded third, and faced off against their island rivals, the VIU Mariners. What was highlighted as a heavyweight tilt certainly met it's expectation as both sides showcased an array of talents.

               The action started right out of the gates as VIU surrendered a penalty decision to the Royals. Nick Pineda Graham was called upon to convert the shot, but was robbed by the acrobatic VIU keeper, David Turkstra. Graham made up for the error several minutes later, firing home the first goal of the game.

               The Royals didn't stop there either. They found a second goal off a beautiful inside foot blast from Isaac Kyei that went top corner and gave Turkstra no chance at stopping it. But the Mariners would not be downed. On the very next play, they came back swinging, scoring their first of the match off a fast break cross.

               The action settled down as both teams tightened up. However, half time was just enough to loosen the Royals backline a little bit. It was all VIU needed to find the equalizer and send the game into extra time. The extra frame saw both teams slow down dramatically and really solved nothing, so it was off to penalties.

               It was a tense exchange off the start, with the Royals missing the first shot, but catching up when VIU missed their fifth shot. Royals goalkeeper Jared Horvath followed it up with a do-or-die shot that sent Turkstra the wrong way. A few shooters later and the Royals had the opportunity to take it home. Juggy Bassi never flinched as he rifled his shot into the net, and the Royals stormed the field in elation over their win.

               Jared Horvath took home the Player of the Game award for his Herculean effort, in the game and the shootout.

               Next up were the hosts and favorites of the tournament, the Capilano Blues. The Blues, coming off a 5-2 win the day before, waited for no time to pass before issuing their statement in the form of a goal off a corner kick. They followed that up with a second from nearly the exact same spot on a corner kick. Moments later, a quick break saw the Blues go up by three.

               In less than 40 minutes, the Royals were down 3-0. But the Royals team would not give up. After going down a man in the second half, the Royals drew back a goal with a brilliant volley from Devon Jones. A second goal came from Rajan Purewal as the Blues seemed to slip up, and surrendered two goals in two minutes.

               However, a second sending off and an insurance goal from the top scorer of the year, Keith Jackson, took the wind out of the Royals sails and the comeback fell just short. The men took home silver for their year's effort.

               But the most important thing to remember is that it's not over. The silver finish grants the men a berth at the National Championships, which will be hosted by Keyano College in Fort McMurray. The team's eyes turn there as they look to bring home a different kind of gold.