Trojans defend ACAC title
Pictures by Emmerson Reyes - Lethbridge College Kodiaks
RAYMOND, ALTA., (Oct. 30, 2022) – They needed extra time to do it, but the SAIT Trojans men's soccer team are Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) champs for the second straight year.
Fifth-year Trojan Nico Gonzalez scored the equalizer in the second half, and then the game-winner 10 minutes into extra time as SAIT defended their ACAC title with a 3-1 win over the NAIT Ooks in the Men's Soccer Championship final hosted by Lethbridge College in Raymond, Alta.
"NAIT is a tough squad, and they are coached well. All respect to them – they gave us a battle," said Gonzalez, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. "Once we got down early, I said to the guys to keep believing. Luckily enough, we were able to get the tying goal forcing it to extra time and then we took it from there. . . All in all, just an unbelievable performance from the guys tonight."
The title is the third in SAIT Trojans history, as they hoisted the trophy last season and in the 2012-13 campaign.
SAIT will now advance to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championship, set for Nov. 9-12 in Langley, BC and hosted by Langara College.
The Trojans hosted last year's national championship and went a disappointing 0-2. In his last kick at the can, Gonzalez would like a better result this time around.
"It's all I can think about; last year left a sour taste in my mouth," he said. "We're excited to get out to BC and put on another performance like we did this weekend. Hopefully, it ends with some more hardware."
NAIT started Sunday's game off by fending off a few stellar scoring chances by the Trojans, and that seemed to spark them, as they then turned around and drew first blood in the 9th minute when Pedro Neto headed a ball past SAIT keeper Marko Ilich.
That's all Ilich would give up, but it wasn't for a lack of effort from the Ooks. In the 90th minute of play, Ilich stopped a breakaway by coming out and challenging the attacking NAIT player and keeping the score knotted at 1-1.
Ilich was on the 2018-19 Trojans team that went 12-0 in the regular season but were upset in the semifinal and had to settle for the bronze medal. A year later, the same thing happened after going 10-1-1, but his team came away with nothing.
He returned this year with one thing on his mind. Gold.
"It feels unbelievable. Coming back and having this happen after all the nightmares following those losses. . . It's a surreal feeling. It's redemption," said Ilich. "It's a phenomenal feeling. I can't explain it."
All season long, Ilich's play was overshadowed by how good his team's defence was in front of him. This weekend, when he was tested, he came up big.
The night previous, Ilich backstopped his team to a tough 2-1 win in penalty kicks over The King's University to send them to the gold medal game.
"Playoffs are a different environment. Teams you don't expect to push you, come out and do exactly that," he stated. "King's played great yesterday and NAIT was really tough tonight, but these games are the games you have to show up in and I'm happy I was able to do that for my team."
In extra time, Gonzalez scored his second of the game after crossing into the box and receiving a pass. After a few missed nets earlier in the contest, his mindset was simple this time around.
"Honestly, I was just trying to put it on target," he said with a laugh. "Luckily enough, I caught it well and it curled into the top corner. It was nice."
Trojans first-year player Brock Mitchell put things away just five minutes later with an insurance marker.
"That was huge because it gave us a bit of breathing room," Gonzalez added. "It allowed us to settle in a bit more and relax in the back. Absolutely tremendous goal by him."
SAIT's Jolly Kopoanomo, Jacob Hunter, Tysen Chatani and Senay Haile were all named to the tournament's all-star team.