Ninety minutes wasn’t enough to crown a Rocky View Sports Association varsity boys’ soccer champion.
So for the second consecutive game, the Cochrane Cobras had to rely on goalkeeper Travis Chace, and a shootout, as they defeated the George McDougall Mustangs 3-2 on penalties for a 1-0 gold medal win at Airdrie’s Monklands Park, June 2.
Stephen Shevas, Kellen Forrest and Ben Farris scored for Cochrane, while Nash Hayward and Chris Sanchez marked for George Mac in the shootout. Mustang midfielder Jeremie Anderson had a chance to send it to extra kickers on the final attempt, but Chace dove to his left to make the save and send the Cobras to victory.
“It was pretty exciting when I made the last save to win,” Chace said. “I definitely thought we had a good chance going into the shootout again, though, and I knew three out of the five shooters, as they used to play on my team.”
Cochrane, who finished the season undefeated (6W-0L-1T), defeated Bert Church on penalties in its semifinal two days earlier, so Cobras’ coach Carolyn McLeod knew her team would be mentally prepared.
“The boys were a little bit calmer and the fear of the unknown wasn’t as intense as it normally would be,” she said. “You can practice penalty shots all day long, but you can never practice that emotion and that game situation.”
The Cobras controlled play for much of the first half, but George Mac had the best chance when Chace made a goal-line stop on Mustang striker Jeff Bell in the 44th minute. Cochrane had a goal disallowed five minutes into the second half, when Quinn Morrison was deemed to have committed a handball inside the 18-yard box before putting the ball in the net.
Moments later, George Mac hit the crossbar at the other end. Coach Brian DeGiuseppe said he knew that was his team’s chance to win.
“At halftime, I said to them you have to dig deep, find the will to win inside and play with some heart – and that’s what they did in the second half. We just couldn’t put the ball in the net,” he said.
“In the second half, we got some momentum going, had a few good chances and started passing better,” said Bell, a Grade 12 player in his final game.
“We had lots of chances including the one off the bar and a few shots that just missed the net. But I’ve had a good four years with George Mac. I’ve got a gold and two silvers, so I’m pretty happy with that. It would have been nice to go out with a gold, but you take what you get.”
Cochrane took an early advantage in the shootout by scoring on its first two attempts, coupled with a rare miss by George Mac’s Matt Wagner. Chace was the Cobras’ fifth shooter, and could have ended it, but Mustang keeper Connor Willmore made the save – setting up Anderson’s must-have shot.
“The shootout is a tough thing to do,” he said. “It puts a lot of pressure and that’s where everybody cracks. It’s tough to get momentum, because it’s you against the goalie. It’s a guessing game.”
“Five guys stepped up who wanted the ball and I couldn’t be more proud,” DeGiuseppe said. “It was an enjoyable season; we just couldn’t beat Cochrane. They’re a little disheartened; obviously nobody likes losing, especially in a shootout. But I think a lot of them are getting their heads up thinking they played well. This game could have gone any way.”
“We almost expected to finish this way, especially with George Mac,” McLeod said. “It would have been nice to have played a little bit stronger of a game, and scored a couple of goals, but George Mac was pretty tough. The teams were evenly matched, we both played fairly defensive, and in the end we came out on top. It’s amazing and the boys are really ecstatic.”
