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Thunderbirds Secure PCSL ‘Double’ on PK’s

July 26, 2010

The Vancouver Thunderbirds added the Sheila Anderson Memorial Challenge Cup Trophy to their 2010 PCSL League championship trophy on Sunday by defeating the Okanagan Challenge 2-1 after penalty kicks.

The Thunderbirds took a 1-0 lead late in the first half when Sebastian Crema played a perfect through ball behind the Okanagan defence to Tyson Keam who went in and finished well.

It looked as though things were in hand for the Vancouver side as time ran down, but in the 94th minute an errant back pass from defender Jason Gill was intercepted by Sang Hwang for a breakaway and he rounded Thunderbird keeper Rowan Anders to level the score at 1-1 and take the game into overtime only seconds later.  The 30 minutes of extra time solved nothing and set up the drama of the penalty kick shootout.  It took 7 shots from each team to decide a winner and eventually it was Vancouver defender Matt Allard who slotted the final shot of the day to give the Thunderbirds the win via a 6-5 shootout.
 
Thunderbird midfielder Alex Marrello was named tournament MVP after running tirelessly throughout the two playoff games…  The Thunderbirds had advanced to the final after defeating the Victoria Highlanders Reserves on Saturday by a 2-0 margin with goals from Navid Mashinchi and a late penalty goal from Marco Visintin… Vancouver will now represent the PCSL at the Kennedy Cup in Portland, Oregon on the August 14/15 weekend.

Vancouver Thunderbirds Captain Jason Gill and PCVSL Director Bill Gillespie with the Sheila Anderson memorial Challenge Cup