One goal was all that separated the D.P. Todd Trojans and Duchess Park Condors Thursday on the high school soccer pitch.
In a hard-fought contest, the Condors came through with a 1-0 victory to win the north central zone double-A senior boys soccer championship at Rotary Field. The victory gave them a berth in the double-A provincials Nov. 17-19 in Burnaby.
"D.P. Todd has been our rival for the last few years and it [the final] was another close game," said Condors head coach Rob Lewis. "It was really high quality and very physical. That was the first time in four years the Condors have won it and we're very excited. The older kids who played on the team haven't been able to break through until now."
In the final, Condor striker Tyler Macsemniuk broke free with 10 minutes left in the match to boot what turned into the winning goal.
"D.P. Todd pushed back after that and [goalkeeper] Garrett [Shervey] really made some big saves for us late in the game," added Lewis. "We held on and sealed it. Both sides gave it their all. The guys played hard and they deserved to win."
The Trojans went into the final match as the three-time defending champions. In the four-team round-robin, their only loss was a 2-0 shutout against the Condors. They defeated the College Heights Cougars in the semifinal to advance to the final.
Along with the Trojans, the Condors beat the Cougars and the Kelly Road Road Runners to earn the bye into the final.
The Condors have an even mix of players from Grade 9 to 12, including five Grade 9 and two Grade 10 athletes.
The goalkeepers - Carter Karpenko and Shervey - had equal playing time, rotating every game.
Because of the teacher's strike, the soccer season was a short one.
The Condors didn't play their first game until three days before the zone championship.
With the provincial tournament a few weeks away, the Condors will move indoors to the Northern Sport Centre to prepare. Even though they'll be the only double-A team from northern B.C. at the 16-team tournament, Lewis is confident they'll turn some heads.
"We definitely have a chance to win a few games," he said. "We have a solid team."
