Facing the best brought out the best in Okotoks United.
Welcoming an arduous task to get out of its indoor soccer pool play unscathed, Okotoks did one better and grinded out a silver-medal finish in the boys U16 Tier II division on Sunday as hosts of the United Communities Cup at the Crescent Point Field House.
“We have a great team ethic, we have no superstars and everyone tries their hardest to win the game,” said Okotoks U16 head coach Dave Marsh. “We’ve got a lot of injuries this year and don’t have as big of a line-up as other competition.
“We were playing against probably the best team in the province in Coaldale and the top team of the league in Airdrie. To make it to the final is a great accomplishment for the kids.”
Okotoks opened the tournament in a 3-1 loss to the same Airdrie squad, a setback which only seemed to fuel the host team to get another shot at its regional foes.
“After that first loss to Airdrie we felt like we deserved more than that,” said Okotoks United U16 striker Kevin Angeles. “We all strengthened together as a group and got what we deserved.
“The whole key in the tournament was to be disciplined and not talk back to the refs, keep the game neutral.”
United struck back for a 3-1 victory over the Coaldale Thunder and blanked West Hills United 3-0 to set up a three-way tiebreaker for first place.
Even on points, Airdrie and Okotoks advanced to the gold-medal game by virtue of goals for leaving Coaldale on the outside looking in and forced to settle for a spot in the bronze-medal match.
The rematch with Airdrie would prove to be more tightly contested.
Okotoks gave up a goal midway through the first half and another minutes from the final whistle in a combative 2-0 loss.
“They knew how to separate the game and hold the time. They knew how to pass to the side,” Angeles said. “It was zero-zero until we made one mistake and they scored on us and made us feel down. Second half we started gaining our confidence and ended up with more chances.
“In the end they were the better team and wanted it more than us.”
Airdrie FC played the role of spoilers just a couple hours earlier in the U16 Tier III ranks.
The bronze-medal match saw Airdrie add a pair of late tallies to edge Okotoks 3-0 in the bout.
Elsewhere, Okotoks picked up the bronze medal in the U12 Tier II division after posting a record of 1-1-2. Okotoks finished fourth in both the U10 and in the U12 Tier III division.
The second annual tournament saw 40 teams and 597 players take to the pitch for 80 games during a jam-packed weekend at the state-of-the-art indoor facility.
“We felt like we needed to win for our home,” Angeles said. “We had the most community to come and support us. Winning our first game that gave us energy to want to win more.”
The community support was considerable in one of the marquee events of the season for the club, its players and most ardent followers.
“It’s great for the families. We get lots of the grandparents, aunties, uncles, sisters, brothers. There is great support, the running track is completely covered,” Marsh said. “The guys do feed off that. They love playing in front of an audience. It’s great to play at home.
“Now we have to finish the season strong and hopefully play all these guys at provincials.”
For more information go to okotoksunitedsoccer.ca
