Leo Bracht converted a “brilliant” pass from Edoardo Lovera to snap a second-half tie and lift the Kwalikum Kondors to a 2-1 senior AA boys soccer victory over Dover Bay in Nanaimo Tuesday afternoon.
The win clinched the top seed in the mid-Island AA North Division for the Kondors, who will host a first-round playoff game Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 3:30 p.m. at Qualicum Beach rec fields.
Bracht scored both goals for the Kondors, who overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit after the host Dolphins scored on a corner kick header.
Five days after Kwalikum suffered a 5-3 home loss to Nanaimo District Secondary School, the team’s defence proved much more stout, led by the work of Godi Seki, Conner Phye and Tota Nakagawa, Kondors coach Butch Gayton said.
“It was a good game between two tough teams; we did learn a few things from our loss to NDSS,” said Gayton.
Coming out of the half, Bracht scored the equalizer on a penetrating run early in the period. Twenty minutes later, Lovera, whose play earned him man of the match honours, found Bracht for the game-winner.
The win wraps up Kwalikum’s regular season with a 5-2 record, 3-1 in league play. A scheduled game against Nanaimo Christian School today, which would not impact the AA standings, has been cancelled as NCS has moved into the Single-A Island playoffs.
Juniors host North Islands
Kwalikum Secondary School will host the Junior AA North Island championships Monday and Tuesday at the Qualicum Beach rec fields.
The six-team tournament begins with a pair of loser-out games Monday at 3 p.m. The Kwalikum juniors claimed the top spot in the southern division during the regular season and drew a bye into Tuesday’s 11:45 a.m. semifinals. The Kondors will also play at 2:45 p.m., either in the championship match or the third-place final.
The top three finishers will move on to the Island AA Junior championships.
— NEWS Staff
