Unheard of off the Island, the Colonist Cup matters in Victoria.
That is why the Lambrick Park Lions can hold their heads high, having taken the city soccer championship from the Glenlyon Norfolk Gryphons in a tight 1-0 victory. The latter side tried valiantly to return the trophy to the Rockland area for a third-straight year.
“It’s the third time Lambrick has won the prestigious trophy since its beginnings in 1935,” said Lambrick coach Steve Legg said. The Lions previously won the Colonist Cup in 1998 and 2001.
For now, the Colonist Cup and its “bragging rights” are in Saanich.
The game itself was scoreless until the second half of overtime. Lambrick’s Chris Fougner delivered a brilliant pass across the field behind the Gryphons’ defender, Legg said.
“Striker Jordan Van Stone ran on to control the pass and timed his shot perfectly.
“(Our guys) dug down really deep with a depleted side with two injuried players and five more deemed ineligible at the eleventh hour,” the Lambrick coach said.
Legg did have the small luxury of two backup goalies, and subbed both in as the chilly weather wore down the regulars over the course of the long overtime halves.
The Gryphons came into the match as the B.C. AA champions, a tournament which the Lions would have no doubt fared well in had they not been upset by St. Michaels University Blue Jags in the AA Islands earlier in November.
“Both teams put everything they had on the field and this made for one of the most exciting matches in a battle for the title of the Colonist Cup,” Legg said.
It was the second time Lambrick beat the Gryphons this year, the only team to do so during regulation play (prior to shootout penalty kicks.)
The Lions previously won the Colonist Cup in 1998 and 2001.
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