Rob Niedermayer is well-known for his talents as administrator of the B.C. Indoor Soccer League.
Sunday afternoon at the Northern Sport Centre he made a name for himself on the field when he administered the game-ending goal for Team Powerhouse in the final of the men's 30-and-older division tournament.
Niedermayer's golden goal in a 2-1 overtime win over Croatia did not require a curling strike from midfield, nor did he have to dribble the ball through his opponents like a sleek Ferrari manoeuvring through a test track. All he had to do was to stick out his foot on a slow-moving pass from Dave Bajic and change the path of ball just enough to fool Croatia goalie Aaron LeBlanc.
At 43, Niedermayer is jokingly referred to as the "elder statesman" of the Powerhouse squad. Normally a defender, he admitted Sunday he was an unlikely scoring hero.
"I guess it's just luck, being in the right place at the right time," smiled Niedermayer. "Dave got the ball in the back there and he ran up with it and I was running to the goal and he crossed it over and I just got a foot on it. I was trying to move it over to the side to get a shot and it just went in.
"It's nice to get the win. We've been in the final three or four times and we always lose, mostly to them. They beat us 5-1 in the round robin, so it was good to get it back."
Todd Kuc opened the scoring for Powerhouse 10 minutes into the game and Barry Kruger fired the equalizer four minutes into the second half.
Croatia was missing three key players in the final -- Jon Lafontaine, Ante Cirko and Sonny Pawar -- all of whom had prior commitments. They did have the services of Alain Ruch, a Prince George transplant who now lives in Vancouver. Ruch just missed a gaping net on a rebound in overtime, shooting high after Tyson von den Steinen unleashed a bomb that goalie Rob Deol blocked.
"I actually feel happy for Rob (Niedermayer)," said Ruch. "Of all the guys to score, that was a beautiful goal, just the way he put the spin on it.
"We probably had more of the play but that's their style. I think their gameplan coming in was to just kind of stick back and work on the counterattacks. We handled the ball well, we just couldn't score, especially when they've got four or five guys hanging back. They played their gameplan to perfection."
In the women's recreational division final, Holly Miller provided all the offence needed for CNC FA, scoring four goals in a 4-3 win over Duckeez. Jen Payne, with two goals, and Desiree Jalbert were the Duckeez goalscorers.
