After two years of disappointment, the Quest Kermodes men's soccer team can finally add a championship in the men's open division at Soccerfest to its resumé.
The Kermodes defeated Khalsa in the finals 1-0 on a goal by Davis Wallington early in the second half. According to Quest head coach Jonas Worth, winning the tournament was a nice start to his role as head coach of the men's program.
"It feels great because I think for the first time they were reflecting my style in their play," Worth said. "They were playing more intelligent and didn't get involved in any mental games. I told them at the start of the tournament that I wanted to be proud of them and I definitely am."
Worth, who took over for former program head Adam Day on Feb. 14, used a mixture of returning players and potential recruits and said the weekend was a bonding experience for his squad.
"We haven't had a lot of time to compete and get used to each other yet," he said. "I really like the way they responded to the pressure and I think this is a team that's not going to give up."
It was a bittersweet loss for Khalsa team member Jared Bir. The loss marks the second straight week in which Khalsa placed second, after losing to Galileo in the Howe Sound Men's Soccer League (HSMSL) finals last week. Bir plays on the Kermodes during the school year and admitted that he was impressed by what he saw from the new look Quest team.
"It was definitely nice to see the guys again," he said. "It was a really close back and forth game and we had chances but couldn't bury them. But I thought Quest looked a little different and seemed to be playing more offensively under Jonas, they looked good."
Quest's Ben MacGregor also found himself in an interesting situation in the Soccerfest finals. He had played several games for Khalsa in the HSMSL and shared that it was a little strange to go up against some of the players he had recently teamed up with.
"They're a quality team and asked me to play with them but I wanted to play with Quest," he said. "It was a really good game and very competitive. It was a little weird to play against Jared but he's a really nice guy and a quality player."
MacGregor has competed for Quest at the last two Soccerfest tournaments, losing in the finals in 2009 and losing in the first round of the playoffs in 2010 and said it was nice to finally get over the hump.
"It's a relief to finally win," he said. "This is our first competitive game under Jonas and he brings a lot of different aspects to our team. He really gets the boys pumped up before each match and he must be doing something right, just look at our result today."
The ladies open division saw SBAA Ajax capture the trophy, with the Meralomas in second and the Quest women's team in third. The men's over 30 division was won by Corona Excavation, a team made up of players from Whistler and Squamish. Kamloops Pronto placed second, with the Sunshine Coast Coasters finishing in third. The Serbian White Eagles placed first in the men's over 40 group, with the Cliff Avenue Seniors and Union Securities finishing second and third respectively.
The ladies open rec group was won by the Richmond Sonics, with Westside FC placing second and the Meraloma Menace in third. In the ladies over 30, Loma 911 won the group, with Semiahmoo Supra in second and the Westside Shooters in third. And in the ladies over 30 rec division, the Metro Ford Celtics took first, with the Richmond Rockets placing second and the Hyack Royals in third.
For more coverage from Soccerfest, check the print edition of this week's Squamish Chief.
