Surrey United SC defeats Erin Mills on kicks to claim national championship in U-16 boys
Posted on 8 October 2012 in U-16 Cup
Surrey United SC (BC)
Two hours of soccer wasn’t enough to decide a winner at the 2012 Canadian Soccer Association National Championships U-16 Cup in Charlottetown, PE. When the dust settled – after kicks from the penalty mark – it was Surrey United SC that claimed the national title over Erin Mills Eagles.
Midfielder Obraj Khela stood the hero after Surrey United won 5-3 on kicks following the 0:0 draw.
Both teams played their hearts out, with neither club giving the other an inch on the pitch to maneuver or set anything up.
Each team had chances to break the ice, but Erin Mills goalkeeper Fiore Costa and Surrey United SC goalkeeper Lucas Johnson were both sensational, each making incredible saves to keep their respective teams in the game.
With their peers and provincial supporters watching, both Surrey United SC and Erin Mills Eagles played intense, physical games right up until the end.
Surrey United SC had a glorious opportunity right at the end of the second 15-minute session of extra time, as the ball was in a scrum of people just outside the six-yard box.
However, Costa was able to see the ball and make a monumental save to keep his team alive.
After 90 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of extra time, there wasn’t a goal to be had for either team.
So, the tension rose as kicks from the penalty mark loomed.
Surrey United SC shot first, and Hugo Vieira made no mistake in beating Costa. Erin Mills left back Alex Lamont responded by beating Johnson, maintaining the deadlock after the first round.
The second round again saw both teams score, with Josh Tylor converting for Surrey United and Nikola Brtan answering for Erin Mills.
Bavi Dhaliwal then stepped up and converted his kick for Surrey United to give them a 3-2 edge. Then, Costa stepped out of the net and turned to face his fellow goalkeeper Johnson on a kick for Erin Mills. Costa was able to convert, again restoring the deadlock.
Mathew Bains again dropped the gauntlet by scoring to give Surrey United a 4-3 advantage as Rajvir Khalon stepped up to the spot for Erin Mills.
In a situation where many goalkeepers guess wrong, Johnson guessed right, lunging to his left to stop Khalon, giving Surrey United an opening with one mandatory shooter to go.
This set the stage for Khela, who stepped up for his team knowing the national championship was on the line.
He calmly scored to Costa’s left after which the celebration was on for Surrey United SC as they mobbed Khela.
The win completed an undefeated week for Surrey United SC that saw them score 17 goals while conceding only two. Surrey United SC finished the tournament with a shutout streak of 311 minutes, going back to the 79th minute of their game against Québec’s Braves d’Ahuntsic, who defeated Nova Scotia’s Halifax City SC 5:0 for bronze earlier today on the strength of Marco-Leonel Dominguez’s four goals.
Dominguez led the tournament with eight goals in five games for the Braves.
