A moment in time they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
That is how Okanagan FC U-15 boys assistant coach Justin Boersma described his group's dramatic win over Roma from Vancouver in penalty kicks Sunday, July 21, to win the club's first B.C. boys youth soccer championship.
"I told them after the game you are provincial champions and nobody came to take that away from you," recalled Boersma.
"It is so hard to reach a final in any sport, let alone win it.
"In any sport, it is always hard to win the gold...but I knew if ever there was a chance to win a B.C. championship it was this year with this special group of players."
Okanagan FC entered the final having won its three tournament games leading up to the final held at McArthur Island Sports Park in Kamloops.
Roma and Okanagan FC had squared off earlier this season at a tournament in 琉璃神社, and Boersma noted Roma had added two new players to the roster prior to the BC finals tournament.
Roma jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one half, and retained that lead at the mid-way point water break of the second half, in a game played in 40 C heat.
Boersma then opted to make a tactical lineup shift to try and create an offensive spark in what time was left, and the move paid off when forward Roman Paylor broke the Roma shutout with a goal to make it 2-1.
With the clocking running down and the momentum having clearly shifted to Okanagan FC, the team continued to press for the equalizer and it came from Kade Redmond on a solo effort chasing down a loose ball against 2 defenders and finding the back of the net.
The game ended 2-2, forcing the game to be decided on a penalty shoot-out to break the tie.
Boersma had confirmed with tournament officials early on in the tournament that shoot-outs would be the tie-breaker with no overtime periods to be played.
Knowing that in the back of his mind, Boersma and assistant coach Matt Redmond chose ahead of time who the five penalty shot takers would be and had them practice in advance to be prepared should that opportunity arise.
He also was confident Okanagan FC goalkeeper Aidan Carreon had consistently made penalty-shot saves throughout the season.
"We had a whole list ready to go. When the time came out, I read the list out and asked each player, yes or no, if you want to take the kick," he said, noting each player responded 'yes.'
"I told each of them that all they individually had to worry about was their own shot attempt. That's it. And I pointed to Aiden and said we have a chance with our goalkeeper."
Carreon ended up stopping two of the Roma penalty shots, while Okanagan FC scored on its first four attempts by Paylor, Redmond, Toyosi Ilori and Kian Cattaneo Krakower to secure the win, and an eruption of celebratory emotions from the players, coaches and supportive parents.
"Just getting to the final is a feat in itself, and winning it is so difficult to do," Boersma said.
"After the game, I told the kids, I wanted them to know every one of them will remember this forever. Players come and go from year to year, but for this group of kids, what they did together will always be with them."
But the season still isn't over for the U15 squad this year, as winning the provincial U15 title earned the squad a berth in the U15 Canadian nationals set for Oct. 9-16 in Quinte West, Ont.
The team will return to three-a-week practices and play exhibition games where they can prepare for the 12-team tournament against the best A-level 15-year-old teams in the country, said Boersma.
"This is not just any old tournament. This is quite a big stage and will be a cool experience for the boys," said Boersma, who himself experienced it as a youth playing in national tournaments.
"It will be my job to keep everyone calm and just take one game at a time. We have proven that anything can happen so we just have to be ready to go.
"We are not going there just to play, we are going to win. If we play our game and don't take anyone lightly, we will have a chance."
The opening two games of the tournament will be against teams from the Yukon and Nova Scotia.
