The Death Hammers grabbed an early lead and never relinquished it, winning the Saanich Fusion FC Turf Burn co-ed soccer tournament ‘A’ final 3-2 over Play Fair and Have Fun.
The championship game, played Sunday afternoon under the hot sun on the lower fields at West Shore Parks and Recreation, culminated a three-day event that saw the finalists play seven or eight matches in all.
The Death Hammers went 4-0 in the round-robin portion of the tournament, then won three more games in the single-knockout playoff round before Sunday’s ‘A’ final.
Play Fair Have Fun also posted a 4-0 round-robin record, but received a first-round playoff bye as the number 1 team overall, meaning they needed just two more wins to advance to the final.
Hammers’ goalkeeper Deep Gahunia, who made a number of acrobatic saves in the final, was named the men’s most valuable player, while teammate Sarah Rhodes earned the women’s MVP award.
The B division saw winless Power Rangers and VIFL Futsal, who finished 26th and 27th, respectively, out of 30 teams in round robin play, put together three straight wins each to meet in the consolation final.
The Power Rangers came away with a 4-1 victory, helped by female MVP Sasja Cross. Men’s MVP was Jeevan Manhas of Futsal.
With moneys still being tallied at the Gazette’s press time, the tournament raised close to $8,000 for the Saanich Fusion soccer club, with another $400 raised for KidSport Victoria through a raffle.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com