Flight delays. A last-minute victory. Two victories through penalty shoot-outs.

Those were just some of the memories that the players of Alma Libre Futbol Club youth soccer team playing under the team Gorge FC brought home from their trip to Europe last month, where they played in the Gothia Cup, the worldB次元官网网址檚 largest youth soccer tournament held in Gothenburg, Sweden.

B次元官网网址淚t was an unbelievable experience,B次元官网网址� said coach Sergio Duran. B次元官网网址淥ur goal to create memories for a life time was achieved.B次元官网网址�

The team playing in the Boys 14 division was one of the 10 Canadian teams in the tournament that drew 1,759 teams from 82 nations. Overall, it lost in the semi-final of the constellation bracket.

Most of the team along with coaches and players left Europe on July 12. After spending some time in London, team arrived in Gothenburg on day later than anticipated after it had to spend an unplanned night in Frankfurt, Germany, following a flight delay.

The team opened the tournament on Monday July 17, with a 0-2 loss against Swedish team Kungsbacka IF in group play.

Duran said the teamB次元官网网址檚 travel delay tired some players. B次元官网网址淭his said, the major factor was how nervous they were,B次元官网网址� he said. The nature of game itself against also offered surprises. B次元官网网址淚t was a bit of shock, the level of physicality and speed.B次元官网网址�

The game was against Mindset FC from England less than 24 hours later. Nicholas GuilfordB次元官网网址檚 goal with 10 minutes left was enough for victory. B次元官网网址淭hey celebrated like they had won the World Cup,B次元官网网址� said Duran of his players, who had received enthusiastic support from their parents as well as locals.

The victory against Mindset FC meant that the next game would decide whether the team would advance to the championship bracket or the constellation round, with the team needing to win a victory over Fagersta S枚dra IK for advancement.

The pressure was high, perhaps too high. While the team had tons of opportunities to score, hitting the post a couple of times, the game ended in a goalless draw, not enough to advance. B次元官网网址淚t was a bit of a loss,B次元官网网址� said Duran. B次元官网网址淪ome of [the players] were close to crying.B次元官网网址�

But the schedule gave the team little time to recover, as they had to play their first knock-out match in the constellation bracket a few hours later against S枚dra Sandby IF, who opened the scoring. But this early set back actually encouraged his players to push harder, said Duran.

Jake Robson scored the tying goal off a free-kick and Jonathan Ami bounced a header off a defender following a corner for the winning goal in the dying seconds of the game. B次元官网网址淚t was pure excitement,B次元官网网址� he said.

The Round-of-32 game against Varbergs BoIS FC featured the drama of penalty kicks. Goalie Alex Emery played the role of hero as he saved three opponentsB次元官网网址� shots, including the last two, as Saanich scored on the last two penalties to advance 5-4.

B次元官网网址淭hat was a lot of pressure,B次元官网网址� said Duran. B次元官网网址淭hey managed it very well. They showed a lot of composure.B次元官网网址� They did so again in the Round of 16 when Emery saved three more penalties against Gammelg氓rdens IF as Saanich won 3-1 on penalties.

With this win, Saanich was three wins away from going to the final of the constellation bracket, a prospect that gained momentum with wins over LatviaB次元官网网址檚 JDFS Alberts (1-0) and SwedenB次元官网网址檚 Bollstan盲s SK (2-0).

These victories showed the teamB次元官网网址檚 growing confidence, said Duran. The game against Bollstan盲s SK especially tested their mental mettle.

While in the same age group, Bollstan盲s SKB次元官网网址檚 players were taller than SaanichB次元官网网址檚. But Duran was not going to let this fact get in the way. He told his players that soccer is not about size, but skill B次元官网网址� skill which they possessed. The game also featured one of the more inspirational moments for the team. Suffering from a knee injury, Max Muellerleile begged Duran to enter the game as a substitute. Duran relented towards the end of the game and it was Muellerleile who passed the goal for the first and ultimately winning goal in 2-0 victory.

With the victory, the team advanced to the semi-final, which also happened to be its third game of the day. The tired team also confronted an opponent different from previous ones. Whereas most of SaanichB次元官网网址檚 past opponents played a fast, physical style, their Portuguese opponents Footgeneration FA Algarve played with more finesse in relying on possession to keep the ball away, forcing Saanich to chase the game.

B次元官网网址淭hey dominated the game and played a nice game of football,B次元官网网址� said Duran.

At the end of their 2-0 loss, many players were in tears, but the coaching staff around Duran immediately tried to put things into perspective. B次元官网网址淲e tried to give them the message that what they had accomplished was beyond expectations,B次元官网网址� he said.

Outside observers agreed in praising the teamB次元官网网址檚 performance as a first-time participant and many are pushing for a return appearance. B次元官网网址淕iven the results that we had, we are in a good position to advance these players to next level,B次元官网网址� he said.