Saving their best for last, the Rutland Voodoos have won their first Okanagan senior AAA soccer championship and will represent the Valley at the B.C. School Sports provincial tournament in Burnaby later this month.
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The Voodoos, third-place finishers in the regular season with a 3-2-1 record, upset the previously undefeated Okanagan Mission Huskies 2-1 in the title match at OKM.
Parm Nagra and Jaime Rodriguez scored back-to-back goals in the latter stages of the first half and the Voodoos stood their ground the rest of the way, giving up only a goal by the Huskies’ Brady McMechan with about 10 minutes remaining.
“It was a great game by both teams,” said Rutland coach John Wasilenko, whose roster includes only three Grade 12s and a number of Grade 10s. “Being the definite underdogs — except in our own minds — the boys worked extremely hard and knew we could pull off the upset. OKM is a very talented team that is part of the soccer academy at their school, so our game plan was to put as much pressure on the ball as possible and take away the middle of the field.”
“We improved throughout the season and played our best in the playoffs.”
The Voodoos earned a berth in the final by outlasting the second-place Mt. Boucherie Bears in their semifinal match two days earlier in West Kelowna.
Scoreless after regulation time, the two teams went to two 15-minute overtime periods and then to a shootout. Rutland outscored the Bears 5-4 from the spot, with the Voodoos’ Grade 9 keeper, Eric Dueck, making the final save to secure the victory.
Meanwhile, OKM reached the final by defeating the Kelowna Owls on penalty shots (4-2) in their semi. The Huskies broke a scoreless tie with about 10 minutes left in regulation while the Owls answered with the equalizer five minutes later.
The Huskies, playing in their first season in the seven-team AAA Valley league after earning four provincial medals — including two gold — in the AA division, were 6-0 in the regular season.
The BCSS provincial championship will be decided in Nov. 23-26 in Burnaby.
Photo Gallery (191 photos) on KelownaNow's Facebook page
Photo Gallery (191 photos) on KelownaNow's Facebook page
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