Dragons, Knights win national titles

Tue, May 30th 2023, 07:58 AM

The 2023 Samuel P. Haven Jr. National High School Soccer Championships is over and, in the end, it was the Lyford Cay International School Dragons who repeated as champions in the boys division and the C.R. Walker Knights won the girls division, on Saturday.

The Dragons played in the featured game at the Roscow A.L. Davies Soccer Field and handed the Government High School (GHS) Magic their first loss of the year with a 1-0 victory. The game was a very physical one as both teams battled for the championship trophy. The game ended 15 minutes before the end of regulation as play was interrupted when a GHS player argued a call and order wasn't restored. It got heated and the referee was forced to call the game early as tempers flared.

The Dragons found the back of the net midway through the second half on a free kick just outside of the Magic's 18-yard box. Senior Xavier Dupuch rose to the occasion and scored the goal on a header that went to the back post, leaving the Magic goalkeeper, who made some good saves earlier in the game, with little chance of making a stop.

Head Coach for the Dragons Phil Carroll said that he is happy to win the championship in his first year coaching the team and is happy that the school repeated as champions. Carroll said he was happy to see his team withstand the physicality of the Magic.

"When we spoke at halftime, we felt that we were in control of the game. Credit to the opposition because they had managed to keep us out of the goal, and they were often a big threat on the counterattack as well. They had a lot of speed and quickness, but I felt we managed that situation then it was all about what we can do on the ball," Carroll stated.

Dupuch said it was an unreal feeling to score the goal that gave them the victory.

"I thought we were dominating most of the game, but we could not get that goal that we needed. I am happy that I got it and with the way we performed in the end. Unfortunately, we did not play to the end as we wanted to, but we got the win and that is all that matters," Dupuch said.

Playing their fourth game in five days including a game the day before, the Knights were able to pull off a victory over Grand Bahama's Bishop Michael Eldon School Warriors, 1-0, in the girls championship match. The Knights did not look like the team they were for most of the season as they played without the usual high intensity that they are known for.

"The key was defense and if we score a goal, we defend our goal," said Knights' Assistant Coach Tia Rolle. "We know that the girls were tired, and they gave it all they had. Today (Saturday) they proved to be true champions. I am happy that we are champions but at the same time I am happy that it's over."

The two teams played good defense as they prevented the other from scoring and getting good shots off for most of the game. It led to a scoreless first half that set the stage for an interesting second half. As expected, the two teams came out attacking more in the second half as they looked to break the 0-0 tie.

After a Warriors defender tackled a Knights attacker just outside the 18-yard box on the left side, the referee blew his whistle for a foul and awarded a free kick to the Knights. Stepping up for the Knights to take the free kick was none other than their leading scorer for the tournament Valtinique Simmons. She had four goals in the tournament. Her kick went into the Warriors' six-yard box and came off Warriors' defender Hannah Edomwonyi for an own goal, giving the Knights the 1-0 lead.

"It was a tough game," Simmons said. "I hurt myself in the ending part of the game on Friday night. I was feeling a little down because I had a bad game today, but I was able to come through for my team when they needed me to. I am happy for my teammates," she added.

The Warriors started to attack more but the Knights' defense stood firm and earned a clean sheet to lift the trophy. Knights' goalkeeper and Golden Glove winner Raynia Russell was excited about the clean sheet.

"I know it was going to be a good game once I had confidence, played my best and left it all on the field. I thank my teammates, especially the defenders for recovering into defense," Russell said.

In the boys division, Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves placed third with a 2-1 victory over the Lucaya International School Buccaneers out of Grand Bahama. It was a rematch of the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) championship game

between the Queen's College Comets and the Dragons in the girls third place game. In the end, the result was the same as the BAISS championship game with the Comets winning 3-2 on a penalty shootout after there was a scoreless tie at the end of regulation.

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the boys division was the Dragons' Michael Massey – a men's senior national team player. There were three Golden Boot winners in the boys division, namely the Magic's Peter Tilusnord, and the Buccaneers' duo of Andrew Lane and Alvaro Espero. They had three goals each. The MVP for the girls was the Warriors' Edisa Bain and she was the Golden Boot winner with five goals.

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