One goal separated the Burnaby South Rebels from a medal at the B.C. high school AAA boys' soccer championships on Saturday.
The Rebels, playing with just limited substitutions, were unlucky to drop a 1-0 decision to Earl Marriott in a cold and slippery consolation final at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex-West.
Golden Boot co-winner Sean Einarsson scored the game-winning tally for Earl Marriott, blasting a solid strike from 30 metres out high into the net, past substitute goalkeeper Nav Samra.
Samra replaced starting keeper Alex Marroquin, who was injured in an early first-half collision with a White Rock forward on a near breakaway.
In the second half, South's Adam Helewka took over in goal and was forced to make a couple of difficult late saves to keep the score within reach.
The most difficult stop was on a long ball down the left side late in the game that Helewka palmed just wide of the far post with a diving save off a hard shot on goal.
Captain Jordan Lashar pushed up in attack from his defender position on a number of occasions.
One such attack, aided by a nice tap assist from forward Matthew Shannik, was whistled down on an offside call.
Nick Leonard, who had a strong second half in the Rebels midfield, was unlucky following a solid chance at goal that just missed the far post.
"I thought we had a great tournament this weekend. We were just a little unlucky today. But that's the way it goes sometimes," said Lashar after the match. "Their goalie was good, they were very organized back there. Kudos to them."
South put itself in a position for the gold medal, winning its pool following a 2-2 draw against McMath on Friday.
The Rebels took their two opening draws, beating South Delta 1-0 and North Peace 5-0 on the first day of the competition.
In the top seeds semifinal match, South got two goals from Shannik to draw even with Enver Creek but wound up on the losing end of a 4-2 score late Friday.
Enver Creek went on to defeat St. George's 2-1 on penalty kicks in the championship final.
"It's a little frustrating, added Lashar, who was also named to the Commissioner's XVI team. "We were underdogs going in. No one thought we would do this well. ... We did everything we could, but we were just a little unlucky, I guess."
The appearance in the high school provincials was the first time in 11 seasons that South had made it out of the North Shore/Burnaby district zones.
South lost the top zone seeding 1-0 to Argyle, but finished two places better than the North Shore champion at the provincials.
Shannik led South in scoring with six goals, just one marker short of the tournament high of seven tallies, shared by four individual high school players.
South was up against more than just the elements in the bronze-medal final on Saturday, playing with just 13 players, including two keepers.
"I think the group that showed up are guys who are committed and I appreciated them going out on a day like today," said South coach Frank Giallondardo. "I'm really, really proud they stuck together and finished it off."
All in all in was a strong showing for Burnaby in high school showing at the provincials.
Earlier in the week, East Burnaby's Cariboo Hill won a silver medal at the B.C. high school AA boys's soccer championships following a 2-0 defeat to Glenlyon Norfolk in the gold-medal final.
