It took 90 minutes of regular time, 30 minutes of extra time and nine shootout shooters, but Galileo managed to defeat Khalsa and was finally crowned the champion of the Howe Sound Men's Soccer League (HSML) on Saturday (April 9).
The shootout is supposed to give an advantage for the shooters but both Galileo goalie Allan Carson and Khalsa goalie Jag Tatla were spectacular between the pipes, only allowing a total of three goals on nine opportunities.
"I love the shootout," Carson said after his team's victory. "As soon as we tied it up and the game continued on, it just kind of seemed that we were destined to finish the game that way. We've beaten these guys in a shootout before so I think we were pretty confident going into it."
Carson set the tone, stopping Khalsa's Taran Bir to begin the shootout off and then saw Khalsa miss the net twice and hit the crossbar once. Khalsa's Jared Bir managed to sneak one by Carson, but it was the only goal he surrendered.
"You try to intimidate the shooter a bit," Carson said. "I've had years of practice and you just try to read what a shooter is going to do. Some guys you know what they're going to do too. Major props to Jag, though, who made some nice saves too."
Overall, the HSMSL title game was an evenly played game, with Khalsa controlling the majority of the first half. Its speed and ball movement was on display early, as Khalsa banged a shot off the crossbar.
Galileo, though, opened the scoring when Cristian Oreamuno scored on a penalty kick at the 20-minute mark. Khalsa replied 10 minutes later when Bruno Freitas scored on a penalty kick of his own. Freitas added another goal just before the end of the first half, scoring on a free kick from just outside the penalty box and Khalsa led 2-1 after the first half.
"We were not on our game in the first half," admitted Carson.
"After the first half we just needed to slow it down a bit," said Galileo's Robbie Nahanee. "We were pushing a little too hard in the first and we just needed to play our game."
Galileo came out determined in the second half, mounting an aggressive offensive display. Tatla made several big stops but after making a big save after a corner kick, Tatla's rebound went right to Galileo's Gary O'Neill, who evened the score. The two teams traded chances during the remainder of the second half but both goalies were up to the task. It was more of the same in extra time as again nothing was decided, which led to the shootout.
The shootout started with both goalies making saves and then Jared Bir fooled Carson to put Khalsa up 1-0. The next two shooters both missed the net but then Galileo's Adrian Oreamuno tied it up. After a Khalsa crossbar, Nahanee scored to give Galileo a 2-1 lead and the victory was clinched after Khalsa missed the net in its final shot.
"It felt really good to score the winner," Nahanee said. "The key to scoring in the shootout is just picking a spot to shoot and going with it."
In the third-place game, the Dyer Straits defeated the Ellis Moving Eagles 4-1. Scoring for the Straits were Charles Carter, Istvan Richter and Austin Sweeney with a pair. John Folinsbee scored the lone goal for the Eagles.
The win caps an outstanding season for Galileo, in which the team only lost one game all season long. The team was awarded the regular season and playoff trophies at the league's awards banquet later that evening and Cristian Oreamuno captured the HSMSL's Golden Boot Award for leading the league in goals with 20. The league also recognized Zephyr as the most sportsmanlike team. Zephyr failed to receive a single card all year long and were praised for their attitude by league officials.
Each team also handed out individual most valuable player awards, honouring the following players: Emmett Falconer (Dyer Straits), Donovan Pereira (Ellis), Jared Bir (Khalsa), Robbie Nahanee (Galileo), Ryan Quigley (Zephyr) and Kyle Smith (Lilwat7uhl).
For the final stats and standings from the HSMSL, check out the Scoreboard section.
