It was champions week in the Royal City last week.
A trio of Royal City Youth Soccer Club boys teams ended up collecting cup victories to add to the clubhouse mantelpiece.
A pair of under-14 squads completed their mission, as the gold Royal City Impact prevailed in its District final, while the Royal City Lions did the same in its final. Rounding out the triumphant trio was the u17 silver Royals.
The Impact bested Squamish 2-1 in penalty kicks to claim the Pioneer Cup, with Russell Moir counting the lone goal for Royal City. The win hinged on the penalty shots, which Royal City began with a miss. They scored on their next four chances, putting the pressure on the crease and Impact netminder Andros Dancey. The goalkeeper made an outstanding save to clinch the title for his team.
It came on the heels of a well-played 2-2 tie with Vancouver a week earlier, where they locked up the league championship. Trailing 2-1, Royal City rallied off a last-minute penalty kick by Mansur Sarvari, after Riley Langner was taken down inside the 18-yard line.
In the Lions final against Vancouver, the first goal of the game was an own-goal created when Lucas Melbourne saw his shot deflected in off a defender. Royal City doubled its lead in the second half with Melbourne’s second of the day. While Vancouver closed the gap, Ryan Tengku buried a high shot midway through the second half for what proved to be the winner in a 3-2 final.
Team captain Thomas Sullivan spearheaded a strong defensive stand to protect the win.
It resulted with them carting off the Commonwealth Cup.
By blanking North Vancouver 2-0, the Westminster Royals corralled the club’s third district crown of the weekend.
In full control by the half, the Royals did a stellar job protecting their lead and limiting the opposition’s scoring chances. Not surprising, since they finished the year as co-league champions, losing just once while outscoring the competition 43-11.
