Williams Lake FC captured the Williams Lake Men’s Soccer League playoff championship with a hard fought 1-0 victory over Celtic Engineering in the final on Saturday, Aug. 13 at the Esler Soccer Complex.
Kolby Taylor scored the winning goal for WLFC.
“The final saw both teams play a really hard back and forth match. Our guys (WLFC) only had 11 players and with no subs and playing in the heat we really had to come together and work hard as a team to earn the win,” said WLFC midfielder Luke Moger.
Celtic Engineering pulled off a huge upset over regular season champions Storm in the semi finals to advance to the championship game.
Storm went undefeated, with nine wins and three ties in 12 games.
The league this season featured five teams and around 100 players and there was a strong commitment made by all teams and very few games ended in defaults due to poor attendance which has hampered the league in past seasons.
“The commitment that was shown by all teams this year was remarkable and it proved that the love of soccer in Williams Lake is strong,” said Moger.
WLFC defender Rajan Mangat had very kind words to say about the local men’s soccer league after his team was crowned playoff champs.
He’s one of many university students who return each summer and participate in the league.
“Coming home for the summer from school, I look forward to soccer in Williams Lake,” Mangat said.
“This is not solely due to playing the sport but the social aspect of it as well as it really brings the soccer community together.
“Behind the scenes, there is a lot of work that goes into putting the season together and we are all appreciative of that. All in all, it was another successful season.”
After the final, the year end awards and a barbecue were held at the clubhouse.
The winners were as follows.
Goalie of the Year: Travis Nystoruk.
Defender of the Year: Sean Glanville.
Midfielder of the Year: Luke Moger.
Forward of the Year: Mike Brogan/Dragan Jukic.
Oldtimer award: Dragan Jukic.
League Most Valuable Player: Sean Glanville.
Most Sportsmanlike: Mike Waterhouse.
Leading Goalscorer: Viktor Stamenov.
Russ Lund Award: Mike Garrard.
Playoff Most Valuable Player: Tobin Bellay.