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Foothills FC spot on in Okotoks debut

Proficiency from the spot and a moment of individual brilliance painted a dream debut for Foothills FC.
Foothills FC v Victoria
Nico Pasquotti celebrates his goal in the 90th minute during Foothills FC’s 2-0 win over Victoria in the PDL season opener, May 11 at Foothills field in Okotoks.

Proficiency from the spot and a moment of individual brilliance painted a dream debut for Foothills FC. Ali Musse scored a penalty at one end and goalkeeper Marco Carducci stopped one at the other as Foothills FC marked its first ever game at Okotoks’ Foothills Composite field with a 2-0 shutout over Victoria Highlanders in the Premier Development League season opener under Friday Night Lights. “I think our experience shone a little bit,” said Foothills FC head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. “We knew we had to change at halftime, we switched the wings with Ali Musse and Tofa (Fakunle) and it got a foul and a penalty right off the bat. “We knew it would be physical, (the Highlanders) are a strong side, organized, competitive side, but we dug in and I think today was a professional performance.” The scoreless first half saw the Northwest Division rivals exchange chances with perhaps the best opportunity on the final play of the opening 45 minutes as Highlander Isaac Koch broke free, deked out Foothills’ Marco Carducci, but couldn’t find the net from an acute angle. The hosts would make the visitors pay almost immediately following the restart. In the 47th minute, Musse was tripped in the box, earned the penalty, stepped up and made no mistake, calmly firing a left-footed strike into the top of the net over the outstretched Nolan Wirth in goal to break the scoreless deadlock. “Ali took a leadership role, stepped up and hit it brilliantly,” Wheeldon Jr. added. “That’s Ali. He comes up with match winners, that’s his gift.” The dramatics weren’t quite over with from the spot. Despite being thoroughly out-possessed, the visitors were dangerous on the counter and earned themselves a penalty in the 68th minute. Carducci preserved his clean sheet with his combination of read and react. “I had a weird feeling that I was going to make the save,” Carducci said. “What I did well is waited long enough that he went down the middle and I went to my left and fortunately it was close enough to me where I could still react. “As long as it was still a one-goal game, with that counter-attack they’re always in it so you’re definitely nervous, but we stayed switched on and knew we could deal with it.” The Highlanders threw the kitchen sink at the hosts and if not for some late stage heroics from Carducci and a committed group of defenders, three points could have been taken away. “There was no way we were going to concede a goal even when they had a penalty,” Wheeldon Jr. said. “Marco has been exceptional, he’s an exceptional goalie. You see the blocks at the end when they were starting to throw it at us. These guys work for each other, hunt together. “There’s a reason why (Marco) was taken by the Whitecaps at a young age, there’s a reason he’s played in the U17 World Cup for Canada, U20s and U23 for Canada, because he’s quality. All we’re trying to do now is put him in the shop window again because he’s a hometown kid and deserves his opportunity.” Foothills winger Nico Pasquotti put an exclamation point on the result in the 90th minute. After providing a major spark as a second-half substitution, the Lethbridge native put in a sublime solo effort, gathering a head of steam from 30 yards out and producing a powerful finish from inside the box. “That part of the game I’m just trying to make a difference,” Pasquotti said. “You know people are going to be tired when you come on so you’ve got to bring energy. “I got the ball on a bit of a counter-attack, saw some space to take it, attack with speed and get a good shot on net. At the start of the season it’s always good to get a goal under your belt and get some confidence.” Particularly in new digs. Supporters, both old and new, created a terrific atmosphere at Foothills field with the sounds of the Foot Soldiers drums and creative chants echoing through the venue for 90 minutes. “I’m a Calgary born and raised boy, had some family in the stands and I’m excited for the rest of the season,” Carducci said. “This is a great setting here and hopefully we can keep filling up the stands some more and we will make this a place that’s very difficult for some teams to come play.” Foothills FC completed the opening week sweep over the Highlanders, picking up the maximum six points with a 1-0 shutout on Sunday. Target man Moses Danto scored the game winner while Carducci registered consecutive clean sheets. “Our biggest goal as a team is to take care of our home field,” Pasquotti said. “Coming out to Okotoks we wanted to make an impression on the fans, everyone that came out, we wanted to make the city proud and by winning at home that’s what we do.” Foothills FC is next in action in Okotoks on May 25 in a divisional showdown with the Portland Timbers. For more information go to foothillsfc.ca


Remy Greer

About the Author: Remy Greer

Remy Greer is the assistant editor and sports reporter for westernwheel.ca and the Western Wheel newspaper. For story tips contact [email protected]
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