Back on track

Royals MSOC return to admirable form

By Davie Wong, Sports Editor

Heading into their back-to-back series against the Langara Falcons, the men knew they had a job to perform. Losses here would really put the pressure on them coming into the final two weeks.

On the same coin, the Langara Falcons also realized there was work for them to do here as well. Losing to the Royals would almost indefinitely knock them out of playoff contentions. Understandably, both teams started the game in a relatively safe manner, playing deep and looking for over-the-top chances. That resulted in a dry 45 minutes to start the exciting series.

The stalemate was broken in the 51 minute after a Logan Hooper shot found the back of the net for the Falcons. It took the Royals about 10 minutes to answer. Tomi Fagopngbe buried the equalizer for the Royals to get them back on their feet. After 15 minutes of attack, the Royals finally found their go-ahead goal off the foot of Race Williams. Five minutes later, they got their insurance with another goal from Fagopngbe. The insurance would be needed, as Kyle Kemp scored in extra time to bring the game close, but wasn’t enough as the Royals took a 3-2 win in game one.

Game two was a whole new animal. I’m not sure if Langara missed the memo on only eating turkey dinner after the games, but they looked lethargic on the field on Sunday. Stefan Kamner buried a rocket of a shot for the first goal of the game. Three minutes later Race Williams doubled the lead with a blast of his own. The 2-0 lead would be good enough to take into halftime, but that didn’t stop them from adding to it.

After a foul in the box, Tomi Fagopngbe stepped up to take the penalty kick. His foot found its mark and the Royals were up by three ten minutes into the second half. A final volley from Quinn Dawson only five minutes later would be the nail in the coffin, as the Royals celebrated their 4-0 lead. Kyle Kemp would score a goal for the Falcons off a penalty kick, but that was merely a conciliation.

The two wins give a huge shot in the arm for the Royals. They now sit third in the PACWEST with a record of 3-3-2, four points clear of Quest, and eight points clear of Langara at the bottom with four games to play.