Highlanders season ends against Thunder Bay

The Victoria Highlanders have taken a bow and left the stage.

Playing through intense 39 C heat in Austin, Tex., on Friday, the Highlanders lost 2-0 to the Thunder Bay Chill in the Final Four semifinals of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League. The Chill move on to Sunday’s final against Austin, 1-0 winners over New Jersey’s Ocean City Nor’easters in the other semifinal.

“Thunder Bay is a very good team,” Highlanders coach Steve Simonson said. “They’ve been here before, they’ve got some experience and quality players. We knew it was going to be tough.”

The heat was a factor, as players were unable to run for any distance, without petering out. It nullified some of the Highlanders plans for counterattacks, especially against a team known for its defence. The Chill, PDL champs in 2008, have yet to allow a goal in the postseason.

“We’ve been able to keep opponents off the scoreboard,” Chill coach Tony Colistro said. “Defence is what wins championships.”

Both teams were focused on defence in the first half, which remained scoreless.

“I do think we hopefully earned a bit of respect,” Simonson said. “We have a young team, except for a few bodies, and we’ve got players who are going to be here for years to come.”

Ten minutes into the second half, Sergio Campano Franco sent a ball toward the Victoria net from about 20 yards out. Highlanders goalkeeper Elliot Mitrou couldn’t get a handle on what proved to be the winning goal.

Using several substitutions, the Highlanders fought to get back into the game, but couldn’t buy a break. Riley O’Neill had a header go off the post, after Jordie Hughes had done the same thing earlier, and overall, corner kicks were 7-1 for Victoria.

“We freshened it up and the adrenalin kicked in,” Simonson said. “I thought we should have scored, but it wasn’t our day.”

The Chill nailed down the victory when Sullivan Oliveira Silva scored in the 90th minute. The loss was a bitter disappointment for the Highlanders.

“I told them when you play in a game that hurts really bad to lose, it means you’ve done well to earn that game. I’m so proud of them,” Simonson said.