Bruins are national champs after nail-biting penalty kick final
Photography by Sam Taskie / The Sheridan Sun
STORY BY SPENCER LUYBEN
Sheridan narrowly surpassed the VIU Mariners in the Championship finals in a nail-biter that had the Bruins clinching the victory 5-4, winning 6-5 on penalties.
In a constant back-and-forth battle that could’ve seen either side come ahead, the host team fought back from giving up late goals in the 90th+4 and 115th minutes, maintaining composure through penalties and not missing a single marker from the spot.
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Hundreds of people – including Canadian Men’s National Soccer head coach Benito Floro – braved the wet cold to observe the matchup, cheering loudly for each Bruin goal and falling silent for each of the opponents’.
The game started with a bang, with a goal by VIU’s Victor Blasco in the 7th minute after the ref awarded a penalty kick following an ill-advised sliding tackle by a Bruins defender in the area.
Sheridan bounced back in the 32nd minute when Chris Di Vizio-Mendez scored off a one-touch from a beautiful ball in threaded through the VIU defense corps by Raheem Edwards.
Edwards continued his production with a goal of his own in the 42nd minute with a header off a cross from Bruins captain, David Velastegui.
Two consecutive goals in the 41st and 42nd minutes concluded the half, and the two teams found themselves even at 2-all.
The second half saw a revitalized and energetic Sheridan unit, led by Raheem Edwards who sent a ball across the area in the 73rd minute and found the foot of Khody Ellis who buried the team’s third goal.
The outlook was positive for Sheridan, but a controversial penalty awarded to VIU in the 90th+4 minute gave the Mariners a breath of life after they converted from the spot to send the game into extra time.
A Sheridan goal in the 91st minute almost took them to the promise land, until a late VIU conversion in the 115th minute stunned the crowd and sentenced the game to be won on penalty kicks
Each of the teams’ first five shooters found the back of the net, until VIU’s sixth shooter missed wide to the left. After a conversion from Sheridan’s Chris Di Vizio-Mendez, the game was sealed for the Bruins, and their place atop the podium – and as Canada’s No.1 team – was cemented for the 2014-15 season.
Check out our live coverage of the bronze and gold games.
