Upper Island Riptide under-16 boys soccer team clinched its second consecutive Vancouver Island Premier League title with a 3-2 win over Prospect Lake Lakers.
A gritty and determined Riptide rallied from a two-goal deficit in the second half to tie the match before the end of full-time, scoring the winner in the first overtime half.
The match was played on a gloriously sunny spring afternoon visited with occasional gusts of wind. Recent sanding of Pinecrest Field pitch in Campbell River resulted in hard uneven bounces.
As expected, the Lakers started proceedings set on the first goal. The result was a number of high quality scoring opportunities. While these opportunities did merit a better result for the Lakers players, they found fortune on a long penalty kick from just beyond the midfield line. The high lofting ball seemed to find extra distance from a strong gust pushing the ball through the outstretched fingertips of goalie Ben Chamberlain for a 1-0 Lakers lead at the 12-minute mark.
More Riptide misfortune was in store in the 19th minute. A Riptide clearing pass from the Riptide end landed square on the foot of the Lakers’ centre-mid who quickly struck the ball from 25 metres out and straight on net. Well positioned, Chamberlain readied to collect the shot however the ball seemed to change direction on a bounce a metre out for a second goal and a seemingly insurmountable 2-0 Lakers’ lead.
For any goalie these events would define disaster and constitute a living nightmare, however Chamberlain collected his composure and played with rock solid calmness under the most challenging circumstances and is better for the experience. The first half ended 2-0 and was certainly Riptide’s worst half of soccer this season.
While Lakers was winning more than its share of one-on-one battles, and at times controlled the centre, Riptide contributed to its own predicament with what coach Henry Roller described as “tense and nervous” play that led to extra touches, rushing matters and rust from a three-week hiatus since its last match.
The second half started with Riptide in full attack mode. Niko Cristante and Cole Freeman controlling the centre won balls and fed long passes to Anthony Vigernon, Grayson Chalifoux and Taylor Arbour. Defensive stalwarts Ben Payne and Brandon Rairie provided a formidable wall that halted any interest the Lakers may have had in the Riptide end. Defensive speedster Ben Gastis was relentless all afternoon and may not have lost a battle the entire match and on occasion pushed play into the Lakers’ 18-metre box.
The first glimmer of hope came in the 56th minute when Freeman’s pass between two defenders was won by Chalifoux. Fighting off a defender, Chalifoux had the presence to tap the ball just past the charging Laker goalie and then regain control for the Riptide’s first goal 2-1. Riptide continued to control play with long stretches in the Lakers’ half however it wasn’t until the 72nd minute, following a long series of passes, that Freeman tied the match on a brilliant shot from inside the 18-metre box.
The effort to even the score took its toll on both the attacking Riptide and the Lakers players equally determined to protect their lead as the match came to full-time, 2-2, with both sides exhausted.
Overtime, an additional two 15-minute halves, continued the pattern set in the second half with Riptide controlling the ball and earning the only opportunities. The constant pressure finally yielded dividends with a hand ball just outside the Lakers’ 18-metre box. Payne was given the honours and selected low right in order to avoid the wall of Lakers’ defenders. The shot caromed off a player and into the net for the winning goal, 3-2, comeback complete.
Following the match Roller recalled Gastis’s half-time comments, “Play with heart and we’ll be fine.” They did and they won. This was an emotional gutsy effort and true character win by Riptide. Seldom in soccer does a team overcome a two-goal deficit and less likely when so much is on the line. To go with the Vancouver Island Premier League title, Riptide secured a spot in the “A” Cup Provincials, July 5 to 8 in Langley. As well, Riptide advanced into the quarter-finals of the BC Coastal “A” Cup tournament and plays North Vancouver Selects on April 14.
