Men's Sunday Recap

Langara Falcons 2 – VIU Mariners 0

In a game that didn’t feature many offensive chances, the Falcons earned a 2-0 clean sheet and clinched first place in the PACWEST and a bye into the gold medal championship game.

The lone first half goal didn’t come until the 37^th minute when Taigo Shimada shed his defender and received a pass just outside the 18-yard box.  He dribbled past two Mariners, getting inside the box before blasting a missile of a shot with the left foot past the diving keeper.  The goal would turn out to be the game winner.

Both teams locked in after that goal and really didn’t allow many opportunities.  As a matter of fact, Falcons’ keeper Elijah Brown didn’t register a save while the Mariners keeper Brian Murray recorded just one save in the game.

In extra time in second half, the Mariners backline got caught too far up the pitch when the Falcons created a turnover and rushed back the other way.  Three players ran a nifty passing play before Masiah Farah got well into the 18-yard box and smoked a hard shot off the right post and into the back of the net to give the visitors a little breathing room before the final whistle.

Following the victory the Falcons earned the top spot in the standings and a berth in the PACWEST gold medal game for the second consecutive year.

Dougals Royals 4 – Capilano Blues 4

If you like offence and physical play, this game was perfect for you as the season’s highest total scoring contest.

With teams tied for the second seed coming into the game the Royals opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the third minute.  With the Royals forwards pushing, a player was hauled down in the box resulting in the PK.  Matteo Falcone calmly stepped up and tapped in a shot to the left side with the keeper guessing right.   Just under four minutes later, the Royals were awarded another penalty kick when one of their forwards was tripped up in the box.  Falcone was asked again to take the kick, and this time blasted a shot to the right side, beating the keeper for the second time.

The Blues would cut the lead in half in the 13^th minute.  A long throw in went off a Blues header the ball was controlled Aydin Ali who tapped a pass to himself through two defenders before hammering a left footed shot into the back of the net.

In the 17^th minute the scoring continued when the Blues drew even. After being awarded a free kick deep in the Royas end, Sebastian Cirotto’s shot ricocheted off the wall to a waiting Zach Gabrys who scored for the second time in as many days.

Then in the 40^th minute the Blues would score their third straight goal to take their first lead of the game.  Cirotto made a beautiful chip pass just inside the box over the Royals backline with Ali sprinting in behind them and tapped the pass over the challenging keeper’s head and watched it cross the goal line for his second of the game.

Along with the five goals of the first half, the teams combined to receive three yellow cards and Royals keeper Matthew Miller was given a red.

In the second half, the Royals would press and tie it at three in the 53^rd minute.  After working the ball down field Keishean Francois received a beautiful tap pass into the 18-yard box and took a quick hitting left footed shot that froze the Blues keeper and into the net.

They would then retake the lead in the 60^th minute thanks to some incredible pressure from their forwards.  Andrew Kerr snuck behind an unsuspecting Blues defender and made a terrific steal, then blasted a hot shot past the keeper from the top of the box giving his club the momentum in this wild game.

The Royals lead however was short lived because just two minutes later the Blues tied it again.   The Blues forwards showed some pressure on the Royals’ backline with Andrew Cerqueira bringing the ball up the left side. He then, almost out of no-where, delivered a beautiful crossing pass to the middle of the pitch when Sam Talaifar leaped through the air to redirect the pass into the net.

The referee was kept busy all day long, issuing two more yellow cards in the second half before this game finally ended in a tie.

With two games remaining on the schedule, the Royals sit three points up on the Blues for the second seed as these two make their way to a potential semifinal date.  They will have this coming weekend off for Thanksgiving before playing their final two regular season games the weekend after that.