Victoria Soccer Club – Tuesday’s championship victory in men’s soccer was extra special for the Paul Kane Blues.
The 2-1 decision over the Strathcona Christian Academy Eagles in the city conference division two final was the fourth men’s metro Edmonton soccer banner in school history and the first since winning the 2008 city title.
“It’s really exciting. A lot of us haven’t even played a school sport or haven’t got a banner before so it’s a real good experience,” said co-captain Dylan Alcock.
Visit www.stalbertgazette.com for the team banner picture.
The Blues finished 4-4-1 overall with a roster of 10 Grade 12 players and only two returnees from last year’s fifth-place 2-3-1 pool B record.
“It’s basically like a rec soccer team. It’s just a bunch of cool guys,” said Grade 12 striker Koltin Glimm. “I’m not even a soccer player but this is probably the most fun I’ve had in all of high school. I’ve made some great friends on this team now, guys who’ve I’ve never talked to before.
“I kind of wished I had played soccer earlier and I encourage it to anybody to start playing. I’m a soccer player now. I just love it.”
Glimm, 17, opened the scoring in the exciting back-and-forth affair with his team-leading third goal of the season in the 25th minute.
Alcock, 16, made it 2-0 off a corner kick in the 59th minute.
Six minutes later the Eagles cut the lead in half with a penalty shot.
“Both teams had their opportunities,” Alcock said. “We had two lucky goals and we just pulled through at the end.”
The playoff kicked off with chances at both ends.
In the 16th minute Ian Mortensen sailed a free kick wide of the Eagles’ net from scoring range.
James Cassidy, a rookie goalkeeper who was a rock all season for the Blues, made a sprawling save and lost the rebound, but the Eagles couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity.
The Blues then pushed the ball down field and Glimm labelled a shot past the left side of the Eagles’ goalkeeper.
“We came out really strong and pressed hard. They slacked off a bit and that’s why I scored the first goal,” Glimm said.
Mortensen, a strong player on the ball who was shifted to the back line for defensive support, headed a dangerous shot away in front of the Paul Kane net in the 29th minute.
The next minute Cassidy charged out to make a stop, then watched as the Eagles booted the rebounded over the crossbar from in tight.
After the Eagles clipped the side of the post with a shot, Guy Butlin skated into the clear but his shot was kicked out.
“After we scored they started pressing a bit more and we were getting pretty scared back in our own end,” Glimm said. “They kept kicking it up and chasing it and we were kind of being a little lazy.”
Early in the second half the Blues escaped a sticky situation in their end. After regaining possession they set up a corner kick and Liam Pearce slotted it into the 18-yard box as Alcock and Glimm rushed in for a crack at the ball.
“I just volleyed it and it went off one of their players and into the net,” Alcock said.
The Eagles had more spring in their step after converting a penalty shot against Cassidy, who faced a lot of traffic in the final. With six minutes remaining they missed the net on a free kick from a good spot.
“We were just trying to hold them back and hold the lead for the rest of the game,” Glimm said. “We were kind of chasing them a bit and trying to get it out and run time off the clock.”
Late in the game the Blues pinned the Eagles deep and almost scored as Pearce came close on a free kick and later struck the ball over the net.
Glimm also uncorked a shot that was deflected by the goalkeeper over the crossbar for the game-ending corner kick.
“We defended them pretty well. They pushed guys high often so we just kept them back in their end most of the time and tried our best,” Pearce said. “It was a great game. They’re a good team (3-5 overall). We hadn’t played them yet because they were in the other (pool) so it was nice to finally play a new team.”
In league play the Blues and Eagles finished fifth in their respective pools and received first-round byes in the division two playoff bracket.
On the pitch next to the division two final was the city championship match, a 2-1 win by the Holy Trinity Trojans (7-2) in a pool A showdown against the Louis St. Laurent Barons (7-1-1).
“We could’ve been there,” said Alcock, a Grade 11 standout up front. “We got a couple of losses at the start of the season and couldn’t bring it back up but it’s just as good winning here (in the division two final) as over there.”
Going into the playoffs the Blues lost their last two games and in the semifinals against the Oscar Romero Ravens, a pool B opponent who placed seventh at 1-4-1 and tied Paul Kane 2-2 in league play, they prevailed 2-1 under adverse weather conditions last Wednesday.
“We kept getting rained out for our games so we just kept practicing hard and eventually it all came together in the playoffs,” Glimm said.
In the first half the Ravens banged in a shot as lightning filled the sky in the background.
With the wind gusting in favour of the Blues in the second half, Glimm was able to get into the right position to knot the score.
In injury time, Pearce unleashed a boomer with his right foot from about 30 yards out that rocketted over the goalkeeper into the corner of the net for a rare goal by the Grade 12 midfielder.
“One of our players played it forward and one of their players knocked it but it came right to me. I took a couple steps forward, got past one guy and took a shot,” said Pearce, 17, on his game winner. “It was pretty fun. Everyone went nuts.”
Head coach Randy Kozak saluted the work of co-captains Alcock and Isaac Kong for keeping the Blues in tune on the pitch.
“Their work ethic and ability to read the game helped all of our players play at times at a higher level in which they are accustomed to,” Kozak said. “Another promise I made these two gentlemen was that they were going to play every minute of every game for the entire season and they did.”
