Kings Soccer team earns ACAC bronze in dramatic fashion

Brent Forster – Red Deer Polytechnic Athletics

Lloydminster, AB – A handful of seconds made a world of difference for the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings Soccer team.

Trailing by a goal very late in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) bronze medal match, Kings second-year defender Kristofer Grobmeier evened the contest 2-2 against the Lakeland College Rustlers, sending the match to penalty kicks.

All five Red Deer Polytechnic student-athletes converted on their penalty kicks. Kings goalkeeper Jared St. Thomas stood tall in net, and the Kings earned ACAC bronze.

The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings came out strong in the opening half and controlled most of the play early. 

With the first half winding down, the Kings hit the scoreboard. From a corner kick, Red Deer's Masoum Zaher strategically found Thomson Wellie who headed it past Lakeland's goalkeeper Zach Wagner.

The wind created challenging playing conditions and the teams switched sides at the half. The Kings faced the wind in the latter 45 minutes.

In the 83rd minute, Lakeland College's Hani Tekheste knotted the contest 1-1. The midfielder from Saskatoon took a shot from about 30 yards out, hitting the crossbar and ricocheting down into the net.

Giordano Ciccacci, a Business Administration student from Italy, pushed the home team ahead 2-1 about five minutes later.

Sarcevic (14)

With seconds ticking down in the game, the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings performed the near impossible. They were awarded a free kick outside of the box in the Rustlers' zone. Zaher started the play, touching the ball to Adjin Sarcevic. Sarcevic, a first-year midfielder, sent the ball out front and Kristofer Grobmeier deposited the rebound into the net, sending the game to penalty kicks.

The Kings five shooters – Jared St Thomas, Pedro Humberto Mourao Neto, Gabriel Fleury de Queiroz, Kirk Moody, and Gabriel Martins Fonseca – were successful.

Jared St Thomas pulled double duty, first scoring off a penalty kick, and then stonewalling the Rustlers' second shooter for the victory and ACAC bronze medal. This was the Kings' second conference medal in as many years.

The Kings outshot the Rustlers 7-6.

Kirk Moody was named the Kings Player of the Game. Wagner received the award for the Rustlers.

With many student-athletes returning to the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings Soccer team next year, the future looks bright and the team will be in contention for a medal, once again.