On Wednesday, May 29, the Loyalist soccer team travelled to the Welland Young Sportsplex to face the Franco-Niagara Lions in the NRHSAA Zone Three Tier Two Championship game. With the soccer team having lost in the finals for the past two years, the team was looking to take the final step and claim the championship.

Things did not start positively, however. Five minutes into the game, a turnover in the midfield allowed Franco-Niagara to play a pass through our poorly aligned back three. The Lions’ forward made no mistake and gave his team an early 1-0. After the goal, the Academy seemed rattled and struggled to gain control of the game until midway through the half. Momentum shifted when the Loyalists finally asserted control of the middle of the pitch. The Loyalists’ first two big chances fell to Bryan Davies, who found the back of the net, but both goals were disallowed when the linesmen deemed him offside on both occasions. The final ten minutes of the half were dominated by RLA. Franco-Niagara’s goalie could only parry Stephan-Obama Delva’s viscous shot from outside the box into the path of Davies who would stay onside and tie the game 1-1. Minutes later, a tremendous through ball on a counterattack would see Davies all alone in front of goal. His clinical finish gave the Loyalists a 2-1 lead. Right before the half, the Loyalists would strike again. Davies would unselfishly square the ball in the penalty area to Chubee Ihedioha who smashed the ball into the roof of the net. 

Heading into the second half, the Loyalists knew their 3-1 was far from safe. Despite playing five in the midfield, they couldn’t gain control of the middle and needed to rely on counterattacks. The team struggled throughout the half to play through the Lions’ lines on the ground. Playing into a significant wind meant that the Loyalists were pinned into their own half, defending their two-goal lead for most of the half. The coaches shifted to a back four to prepare for the onslaught and moved Bryan into the middle to solidify the team’s shape. For most of the half, the plan worked. Jonathan Flavien, Will Kulidjian, and William Peters were each a Colossus at the back. Pedran Jenkins, Nathaniel Cobrand, Chubee Ihedioha, Bryan Davies, and Aidan Perez were tireless in their running throughout the half. Unfortunately, a mistake at the back would give Franco-Niagara a lifeline. With the game at 3-2, the pressure on the Academy’s goal was constant. Despite the pressure, RLA had three counterattacking breaks to put the game away and could not do it. Instead, the team relied on Duncan Larmer to make three critical saves, including an incredible one in the closing moments to seal the 3-2 victory.