(Posted 2:30 p.m., Nov. 9)
St. Peter claims Tier 1 soccer championship on penalty kicks
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

Colonel By's Nicholas Fleuriau-Chateau tries to protect the ball from the Knights Stephen Priel during the NCSSAA Tier 1 soccer championship on Nov. 9. Fred Sherwin/Photo

The St. Peter Knights are the NCSSAA Tier 1 high school soccer champions after beating the Colonel By Cougars 5-4 on penalty kicks.

After finishing at the top of the ladder in their respective conferences during the regular season, the two teams were destined to meet each other in the post-season finale which was played out at Hillcrest High School on Nov. 9.

The game started out the Cougars very much in the assendency, but they weren't able to capitalize on their opportunities until the 16th minute when Nicholas Fleuriau-Chateau buried a cross from Andrew Sun past St. Peter keeper Adrian Poirier.

Trailing 1-0, the Knights stepped up their level play, generating several scoring chances of their own including a volley by Tyrone Ajani that just went over the top of the net in the 20th munute and another opportunity by Samuel Henriques in the 26tth minute.

Colonel By had a pair of chances to put the game out of reach early in the second half, but a strike by David Zhu in the 18th minute just went wide and another quality opportunity by Abdul Sabtan in the 20th minute also missed the mark.

The Knights finally caught a break in the 37th minute when the Cougars were called for commiting a hand ball foul in their goal area. Paolo Spadaccini surgically buried the penalty kick to tie the game at a goal apiece.

When neither team managed to score a go ahead goal during the remainder of regulation and 10 minutes of extra time, the contest went to penalty kicks.

The Cougars ended up blinking first when their third attempt sailed wide of the goal. The Kinghts, meanwhile, made everyone of their kicks, including the game clincher by none other than Spadaccini.

The St. Peter Knights pose with the Tier 1 champiosnhip trophy after beating the Colonel By Cougars 5-4 on penalty kicks to win the NCSSAA final. Fred Sherwin/Photo

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)

Visit www.orleansonline.ca's main page