In a showdown of Cinderella teams at the Fraser North zone senior boys AAA soccer championships, it’s the New Westminster Hyacks that turned into a pumpkin.
After winning its first Burnaby-New West league title in 35 years, the Hyacks run to a berth in the provincials later this month was grounded by the upstart Gleneagle Talons from Coquitlam, 2-1 in extra time, Thursday, Nov. 7, at New West Secondary.
The Hyacks needed to win the match to be able to play for Fraser North’s third spot in the provincial tournament that will be played Nov. 21-23 at the Burnaby Lake Sports Complex, a path necessitated by New West’s earlier loss to the Heritage Woods Kodiaks, the top-ranked team in the Coquitlam league.
The route looked achievable when Lauchlan McGowan opened the scoring for the Hyacks early, firing a shot across the box and past the legs of the Talons’ keeper.
But Gleneagle was resilient and scored the equalizer on a free kick by Bradyen Truong awarded right at the end of the first half.
Neither side scored after the break, sending the match to extra time where Ali Haji netted the winner as time was winding down.
The Talons, which was the third-ranked team in Coquitlam with a record of four wins and three losses in the regular season, has never reached provincials.
They’ll get that opportunity with a victory Tuesday, Nov. 12, over the winner of Thursday’s backdoor match, the Westview Wildcats from Maple Ridge.
Heritage Woods will play the Burnaby North Vikings for the Fraser North zone championship, also on Tuesday. Both of those teams have already secured their place in the provincials.
Tuesday’s games will be played at Pitt Meadows Secondary, with the third place game beginning at 12 noon and the championship final at 2 p.m.
