Five wins in 17 regular-season games and a perfect 2-0 after that. Global Elite hit its stride at the right time and was rewarded with a championship.
In the men's Division 1 final of the B.C. Indoor Soccer League playoffs, Global Elite downed Simba Motors 3-0 Sunday night at the Northern Sport Centre fieldhouse. Global's victory came on the heels of a 4-3 shootout decision against favoured Falcons FC in the semifinals a week earlier.
Global completed the regular schedule with a 5-9-3 record and was third in the five-team division.
"The difference between the regular season and the playoffs is, in the playoffs, if you lose, you go," said Global's Henry Sebastine, who scored what turned out to be Sunday's winning goal on a first-half breakaway. "We played [in playoffs] like this was the last game. Regular season, everyone was getting to know each other and we couldn't play together. By the time the playoffs came, we were bonded like a team."
In the final, Global used its superior speed to control the first half and took its 1-0 advantage into the break. Then, just 20 ticks into the second half, Global got an insurance marker from Bernard Minimah, who blasted a high shot past goalkeeper Joao Mederios. Global then abruptly changed strategy and concentrated on defending. The Simba Motors players managed to generate four or five good scoring chances but either missed the target or were turned away by goalie Steve Liss. With about five minutes left on the clock, Global padded its lead with a goal by Alozie Anyanwu.
Liss was happy with the determination his teammates showed and was equally pleased with keeping Simba off the scoreboard.
"I love getting shutouts," he said. "It's always a great aspect of the game. You feel good about yourself."
The second-half pressure applied by Simba suited Liss just fine.
"That's when I play best," he said. "You keep in the rhythm of things, you keep playing hard and it just all falls together."
Simba Motors, fourth during the regular season with a mark of 5-11-1, beat top-ranked Michael's Jewellers 1-0 in the semifinals. But, ultimately, Simba couldn't match Global's level of play in the final.
"They [Global] played a good game," said Simba's Jon LaFontaine. "They're very quick. They move the ball good and they use their speed. We tried to slow it down a little bit but couldn't really get it going once we slowed it down.
"We had some good scoring chances [in the second half] but just couldn't bury anything."
In the women's Division 1 final, also played Sunday, the second-seeded PGYSA Under-18 Kodiaks beat top-ranked Subway FC 4-3 in a shootout.
The results of the other championship games were: men's Division 2, Eden Spas 1 Eecol Electric 0; men's Division 3, Shooter's United 6 P.G. Listings/Mood Bucket 0; women's Division 2, Design Logic 1 Accelerated Sport Physiotherapy 0; and women's Division 3, Liquor Warehouse 2 Pathfinder Forestry 0.
