The Sunshine Coast Storm FC U13 boys soccer team played their first BC Cup game this past weekend at Kinnikinnick Park in Sechelt against the Cliff Avenue Barca team from Burnaby. These games happen in between regular season games and are a “do or die” format – you win, you continue to play on to the next one on the road to the BC finals; you lose, you are out of the race for the BC Cup – unless you win your division, then they invite you back in to the Cup series. Regardless of the technicalities, our Storm boys looked ready and determined to play each game like it was the championship and possibly continue the winning streak started on Labour Day, undefeated for a good reason.
In the first half, the Barca team were undoubtedly looking sharp and coordinated, giving the Storm something to consider. With constant hard work and pulling together as a team, the Storm avoided some really impressive attacks. Barca were very aggressive, with great communication and team play giving them the opening goal and making life difficult for the strong Storm we have come to know. In the past this would have been hard for the Storm to bring back, but not this year; they know how to make it happen, stay focused and composed and believe in the team as a whole.
The Storm made it a tie game through perseverance and sheer will to play hard, and that gave the team a real sense of strength. As Barca went up 2-1 in the second half, it became one of those exhilarating moments – there is time left, so what are we going to do with it? In the last 10 minutes of play, there was a flurry of assaults on the Barca end, the Storm in no way shape or form let up the fight – absolutely magical soccer from everyone to tie the game at 2-2, with only a few minutes to go. This sent the game into penalty kicks as a winner must be decided.
The Storm handily took the shootout after some great shots on net and a few close calls, winning this fantastic challenge to continue on the road to the BC Cup. The message going back with Barca to the rest of the city is: ‘This is a great team, a strong team, a focused team and a team that will not go gentle into that good night.’
