The 15 Wing Moose Jaw soccer team had been battling back all week.
It turned out that they had one final comeback left in them Sunday.
Kale Haley tied the Canadian Forces Prairie Region men’s soccer championship final in the 90th minute and Ken Huus scored the winning goal five minutes into extra time as 15 Wing beat CFB Edmonton 3-2.
It is 15 Wing’s sixth consecutive regional title.
A repeat didn’t look promising as the game entered the final minute of regulation with Edmonton leading 2-1. Haley broke into the area and while Edmonton keeper Eddie McCarty charged out and got a lot of the ball, the force of the shot allowed it to spin into the corner of the goal.
“When you score a goal like that, it usually goes against you, not for you. I was in shock that we scored that goal,” said Haley who also opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. “It felt like that little bit of magic we had been missing all game showed up right there.”
Moose Jaw carried the momentum in the extra time when Huus — a Dane who is one of three foreign players in the 15 Wing team — put Moose Jaw ahead for good.
“One of my guys got it on the right side, I just pulled back, saw the ball coming and jumped for it. Apparently I hit the way I should,” said Huus. “It was a great feeling to see it hit the net.”
After Moose Jaw opened the scoring, Joe Almeida tied the game in the 26th minute and put Edmonton ahead with a free kick goal in the 62nd minute. Almeida had previously played in Moose Jaw.
Moose Jaw got off to a slow start in the tournament and finished fourth in round robin play with a win, two losses and a tie.
In the semifinal they beat CFB Shilo 3-0 thanks to two goals from Csaba Lazar and another from Haley.
Edmonton beat 17 Wing Winnipeg 2-0 in the other semifinal as Ben Kibzey and Kevin Henry scored.
Moose Jaw will now travel to the national men’s final in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.
For more please see Monday’s Times-Herald.
