After staring down an early end to their soccer season, the Windsor Wolves clawed their way back into a contentious playoffs where they eventually went all the way.
On Nov. 20 in Burnaby, Windsor's senior boys took their first-ever provincial AA banner, defeating tourney-favourites Langley Christian in a shootout following a 0-0 tie.
It’s flip-flop comeback from last season, when the team went undefeated until losing to Mulgrave in a final game shootout.
Unlike last year, when the Wolves seemed to cruise through many of their games, this season involved more trials and tribulations, explained coach Aaron Bruce.
The Wolves lost a couple games during the regular season in shootouts, coming second in the league. From there, the team had to win a play-in game to make the Sea to Sky Zone playoffs – which they did against Templeton Secondary, also in penalty shots.
In those playoffs, Windsor fell in the semi-finals to St. Thomas Aquinas, in a shootout again.
That meant Windsor had to fight for a third-seed spot in provincials. Facing Notre Dame, the Wolves won 2-0, which Bruce said was a turning point for the embattled squad.
Being the zone's third seed put them in a challenging pool in provincials, but Windsor won three-straight pool games to take them to the semis. “The boys played incredible,” Bruce said.
The Wolves beat Mark Isfeld 2-1 in the semi-finals, which took them to the final matchup against top-seeded Langley Christian.
Knowing they were facing a tough opponent, Bruce put together a defensive plan to diminish Langley’s speed and attack.
Several high-pressure shootouts prepared team for overtime final
While the plan was working, things turned dire in the second half when a Windsor player received a second yellow card, knocking their player count down to 10. But they held Langley off, getting them into overtime at 0-0.
That’s when goalkeeper Dylan Spires stepped up, saving the first shot from Langley in the shootout.
That really got the boys amped up, Bruce said. “Everyone was quite excited.”
All of the Wolves put their shots past the Langley keeper, including the game-clincher scored by Sam Saedzadeh. Spires made another save to secure the tournament win and the team’s first-ever provincial banner.
Unlike last year, Bruce said the team’s exposure to several high-pressure shootouts during the season set them up for success in the final.
“When the overtime finished and the players on the field came over to the bench, I just looked at them and just said, ‘It’s our time,’” he said. “Everybody just felt really confident that it was our turn to win these penalty shots.”
For his outstanding play in front of the net, Spires won the Golden Gloves for the tournament’s top goalkeeper. Alex Boardman was named MVP of the provincial tourney, and Ty Whyte was part of the Super 16, which is essentially the all-star roster.
At school on Monday, the team's historic win was celebrated by the school in the cafeteria, with a highlight reel rolling on a big screen.
“They replayed the penalty shot winner, and the kids all went crazy,” Bruce said.
