The field was drenched, the ball had a bite and the opposing team was what's called "tough" in the soccer world - not necessarily dirty, but extremely physical. Despite the hostile terrain at Brennan Park on Saturday (Sept. 29), Squamish FC powered through the physical play of the Point Grey Rangers to tally their second win of the season 2-1 and hold on to second place in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League.
"These guys are tough, eh?" said team manager Dave Harrison from the soggy sidelines as his players battled through the Ranger's aggressive presence.
"It's good for the guys to face a team like that because it forces them to play a bit tougher themselves."
Squamish pressured early in the first half, dissecting the defence with give-and-goes and charging the net. Gary O'Neil was sent on a good break, but in an attempt to send the ball over the rushing Point Grey keeper he kicked it over the crossbar. Shortly after, O'Neil passed to an open Chris Golaiy who kicked wide.
Relentless pressure was finally rewarded midway through the second half when Mike Emerick's pass from midfield found O'Neil. Again rushed by the keeper, O'Neil placed a chip shot over the Ranger for the first goal. Point Grey evened the score 15 minutes later when a dangerous cross kick slipped through keeper Kyle Lonsdale's hands as he was bumped.
However, just as Squamish did in their last home game against Cleo's FC, the team scored the winning goal in the final minute. This time, Emerick put the ball back to Golaiy who booted a bullet past the hopeless keeper. "[Emerick] was just deking through the defence there, keeping his head up, and I'd been calling for the ball all game and he finally put it to me right on my foot," said Golaiy. "I finally got a chance and put it away just when we needed it."
Golaiy said his team's success came from their ability to match the grit of the Point Grey Rangers."We knew we had a tough match and it was going to tell us where we'll stand this season. We came out strong, kept our heads in the game, and kept doing what we've been doing all season long.
"We're going to keep it up and hopefully reach the top of our division," he said.
Squamish FC holds second place in the ten-team 2 "B" division with two wins and two draws for eight points. Bombastic SC stands within a one-point reach with three wins for nine points.
On Saturday (Oct. 6), Squamish hits road game against winless B United. Harrison said his guys have to play as strong as they can every game no matter which team they face.
"It's their first year so they always know they have to go hard."
