Big expectations and national tournament hopes came crashing down when the Douglas College men’s soccer team suffered a 2-1 loss in penalty kicks at the PacWest championship semifinal last Friday.
As the No. 2 seed and defending champions in the provincial tournament, Douglas had set its sights on getting a repeat trip to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association’s nationals in Prince Edward Island, after placing second last year.
Those hopes came crashing down, but it took penalty kicks to do it.
Going six rounds, No. 4 seed Langara eliminated Douglas by a 4-3 decision, thanks to a big effort from goalkeeper Kevin Monk. The keeper turned aside three Douglas shots to earn player of the game honours.
The Royals trailed after the Falcons took the lead in the 34th minute on a tally by James Millar.
Putting all their offence on the table in the dying minutes, Douglas potted the equalizer when Burnaby’s Tomi Fagbongbe scored during injury time.
Neither team could score in the 30-minute extra session, forcing penalty kicks.
Douglas had entered the week ranked No. 2 in Canada.
Three members of the Royals were named to the PacWest conference all-star team: midfielder Edris Najm and forwards Taylor Richardson and Race Williams.
