It's the end of an era - but it ended magically.The Squamish Under-18 boys' soccer club played Rep together for the last seven years, guided the entire way by coach Andy King. And on Saturday (March 8), the 16 and 17-year-olds marched as one onto the pitch for the last time - 11 players, no subs, for the Gold Division 1 Pioneer Cup against South Burnaby Metro Club (SBMC).SBMC took control of the first half but Squamish held on to quell the score. Going into the second half, the boys knew they had 30 minutes left to make their final impression. "We just knew in the last game the boys were going to be pretty nervous and at halftime we knew we had them," said King. "We just took over."The Squamish forwards came close on a number of chances. As the final minutes ticked away, it was either score or go to a shoot out.And no one wants to lose or even win on a shoot out.With about five minutes remaining, midfielder Oliver McQuaid put the ball through a defender's leg and tore into it from about 30 yards out. The SBMC keeper lunged at the ball but it bounced through his arms into the goal."I hit it as hard as I could and was kind of surprised to hit it so solid," said McQuaid. "I just watched it and it kind of bent away from me and it bounced right before the keeper and just as he dove it bounced right underneath his arms."With just minutes remaining, Squamish knew they could shut SBMC down for the 1-0 victory. They acted accordingly having reached the top over 12 other league teams."We just went nuts and apparently Andy just went crazy and was kicking a garbage can and stuff and everyone just went nuts on the sidelines so it felt pretty cool," said McQuaid.So ends seven years of King coaching the Squamish boys into young men.And the coaching that has seen its share of success. Last year, as U17 boys competing British Columbia Soccer Association's Youth BCSA (B) Cup, the short bench of 13 players took home one loss, one tie, and two wins despite injuries among most of the players.King will now start the cycle over again by turning his attention to his 10-year-old daughter's Under-12 Rep team. He figures every one of the guys will continue on playing soccer in the coming years."Every boy on that team will carry on playing soccer," said King. "It wasn't a case of just one or two like most teams that play off those players. All the boys can play football." McQuaid said he's looking to UBC or Capilano College. Either or, he'll be looking to hit the ball solid for that epic hit.
