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(Nov 16, 2006) - Second gold fitting finish for fifth-year Bears
Ross Prusakowski
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| Liz Durden |
GOLDEN GOAL Fifth-year Bear Hilaire Kamdem (below) blows a free kick past Trinity Western keeper Tyler DeJong (above) for the game-winning goal in the CIS championship final.
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| Liz Durden |
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Every athlete desires to finish their careers with a gold medal around their neck. The five seniors on the Golden Bears soccer squad got to fulfill that wish this past weekend at Foote Field when they took home the Sam Davidson Memorial Trophy as CIS champions for the second and final time after winning the championship in 2003 as well.
Those fifth-years played a big role in this year’s championship run; Hilaire Kamdem scored the only goal of the championship match, and Mark Korthuis was the team’s captain and leader throughout the season. Korthius, the 2005 Canada West MVP, was forced out of the final game with a groin injury, but was still named a tournament all-star, along with fifth-year defender Jarin Myskiw.
“It was definitely nerve-racking on the bench watching ... I couldn’t breathe for the most part after we scored that goal; I just wanted the game to get over with,” Korthuis said. “It was disappointing, but in the same respect I knew that [my replacement, Quenton Zalazar] was going come on and do a good job and I had all the faith in my teammates that they were going to get the job done.”
Joining Korthuis, Myskiw and Kamdem in winning their second CIS title with the team were defender Michael Kennedy and injured keeper Devon Fraser. Last year’s squad suffered from a lack of experience in missing the playoffs, but the return of Kennedy and Junior Castrillion-Rendon—another member of the 2003 championship team—provided stability and additional maturity for the Bears. It was the experience and mentorship these players brought to the team that Alberta head coach Len Vickery cited as making them championship material.
“They’ve been absolutely superb in terms of keeping the group together and bringing along the first year players,” Vickery said. “Every team has to go through a little bit of adversity, unfortunately we had to go through the Canada West championship with some. But we protected our confidence; we knew we were a good team ... and brought [that] to the national finals.”
As they savored capturing their second and final title on the frozen turf of Foote, the handful of Bears that were part of the championship team three years ago tried to compare the victories.
“I think it’s a different feeling for us now because we’re fifth-years and we’re the leaders on the team,” Korthuis said. “We had to take the initiative throughout the year to get the team together and set the tone. It’s just as nice, but it hasn’t really set in yet.”
“It’s completely different in that it’s a completely different team, but it’s amazing just the same,” Kennedy added. “Each is very special memory and this one’s totally different because it’s the last CIS game that I’ll ever be allowed to play and we’re walking away with the trophy—it’s incredible.”
For his part, third-year Bears keeper Daniel Gusberti was savoring his first taste of CIS gold after a stellar performance in the Alberta net during the National Championship. However, despite stealing the starting job after Fraser suffered a serious ankle injury earlier in the year, Gusberti wasn’t feeling too sympathetic for his injured fifth-year teammate.
“Nah, I don’t feel bad,” Gusberti said. “He’s already got a championship.”
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