Two-time defending A provincial champion Glenlyon Norfolk denied the Cariboo Hill Chargers a first-ever B.C. soccer title.
Cariboo lost a 2-0 scoreline in the B.C. high school AA boys' soccer championship final to the Victoria independent school that had dominated the single A division for the past decade.
The AA title was the fifth B.C. high school banner that Glenlyon Norfolk has won since 2005 and third provincial title in a row.
"We are well coached, and we try so hard. We believed we could do it," said Glenlyon Norfolk's Sean Pickersgill, who scored a breakaway goal in the final and was later named the tournament MVP.
The two teams played to a scoreless first half, but Glenlyon Norfolk was full value for the win based on its second-half play.
Fergus Hall broke the deadlock for the Victoria school just getting his head on free kick attempt that got by Cariboo keeper Juggi Dosanjh midway through the second half.
Earlier in the half, Pickersgill showed how dangerous Glenlyon was in possession, getting behind the Cariboo back line and hammering a shot from close in off the post.
Dosanjh also had to make a difficult save in the half, knocking down a hard shot and then getting to the rebound ahead of a Glenlyon forward.
On still another Glenlyon opportunity, Cariboo's David Genet cleared a ball out of the six-yard box that fell off a well-placed corner kick.
But despite the score, Dosanjh and the Cariboo back line of Andy Hehar, Pavindeep Singh, James Szabo and Gurtaj Hehar played well, keeping the Glenlyon attack at bay for most of the match.
"It's a huge accomplishment," said Dosanjh. "For us to come here with all our fans, it sucks. We all grew up together, and we all played Burnaby Selects together all season long. I know how they play. They don't back down. They're good."
Singh was named to the Commissioner's XVI after the tournament.
"We had some guys playing hurt. We weren't as healthy as we were in the past. But you can't say anything against them (Glenlyon Norfolk)," said Cariboo coach Joseph Resendes.
Cariboo Hill opened with a 1-1 draw against Kwalikum behind player of the game heroics by striker Daniel Aguilar.
The Chargers then defeated David Thompson 3-1 before blanking Sands 1-0 to take top spot in pool play.
Bruce Duncan was Cariboo's player of the game against Thompson. Dosanjh was full value for the shutout in a must-win game against the Delta school.
In the semifinal, Cariboo got by Okanagan Mission 2-1 in a shootout on the game-winning goal by 14year-old Szabo to advance to its first-ever final.
Cariboo striker Justin Dhaliwal led his team in goals with three, including the game-winner against Sands.
Golden won the Rob Kelly fair play award named in memory of the popular former Burnaby Central teacher.
Ben Robson of Kwalikum with eight markers won the Golden Boot award as the top goal scorer in the tournament.
