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Bert Church concedes RVSA soccer title to Springbank

The hope of achieving the “three-peat” as Rocky View Sports Association (RVSA) champions was spoiled June 6 for the Bert Church Chargers boys’ soccer team, with a 1-0 loss to the Springbank Phoenix.

The upset at Monklands Park marked the Chargers’ sole defeat of the 2019 season, after winning seven games on the trot. It also marked the first time since 2016 that a team other than Bert Church has won the divisional title.

“We got some bad breaks early on,” said Chargers head coach Sebastian Durand. “The whole first half, we had a couple chances and a couple calls that didn’t go our way. After their goal, it was a little demoralizing, but we were prepared for it.

“I can’t count how many chances we had that were six inches off. It didn’t pan out, but Springbank played really well.”

A direct free kick goal from Collin Trofimuk in the first half put Springbank up 1-0, and the Phoenix managed to weather the storm for the remainder of the match.

The second half played out almost entirely in the Phoenix’s end, as the Chargers forwards peppered Springbank goalkeeper Cole Madeiros with shot after shot. Despite the continuous offensive pressure, the ball never found the back of the Phoenix’s net.

“All we could do was keep attacking,” said Dylan Waller, a Grade-11 center back for the Chargers.

“We busted our [butts] and tried as hard as we could, and that’s all you can really do. It’s sad we lost it over a free kick, but we’re going to be ready next year to come back for that trophy.”

While Bert Church dominated the division throughout the regular season, Springbank was a worthy adversary for the championship, finishing second with a 4-1-1 record. The Phoenix also boasted the top defensive record in the league, conceding just four goals during the regular season – three of which came from Bert Church in a 3-0 loss May 16. 

Trafimuk, a senior with Springbank, said it felt great to end Bert Church’s two-year dynasty in his final year of high school.

“I’ve been on this team since Grade 9,” he said. “We all knew at the beginning of the season that if we were going to win a banner, it had to be this season. It feels great, and it’s great to get the goal, as well.”

He said the win came down to Springbank’s defensive resilience.

“You could see in the last 20 minutes or so, it was pretty much all in our end,” he said. “We were talking to each other and saying, ‘we need to close this out and finish the game.’

“We felt good coming into it. We just wanted to play our game. We knew they were undefeated, so [beating them] says a lot.”

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