Kings persist and tie Broncos in Olds

Brent Forster - RDC

Olds - The Red Deer College Kings trailed the Olds College Broncos on three separate occasions but showed resolve to battle back each time for a 3-3 tie on the road. 

The Broncos managed to hit the scoresheet first. In the 12th minute, Mario Fabian Gromenida gave the Broncos a 1-0 edge but the Kings quickly responded. Only six seconds later, Pedro Humberto Mourao Neto converted a Timmo van Klaveren pass behind Broncos goalkeeper Ryan Murphy to even the contest 1-1. Minutes later, Olds College captured a 2-1 lead. Gromenida struck again in the 15th minute and the 2-1 margin held up into the second half. 

The RDC Kings showed improvement in the latter half and eventually Red Deer's Theoren Gill knotted the game 2-2 in the 56th minute. The Broncos would pull ahead for the final time nine minutes later. Olds College's Jacob McLarney set up Abu Bangura for the go-ahead-goal, which lasted just over 20 minutes. The Kings didn't quit and in the 86th minute, Kyle Bett, a Kinesiology student from Calgary, beat Murphy to help the RDC Kings earn a 3-3 tie and remain unbeaten in the early stages of the season. 

Kings Soccer Head Coach Wade Groenewegen identified a few areas of improvement. "Well unfortunately, it was not our best performance," says Groenewegen. "We were not sharp on a couple of defensive free kicks in the first half that cost us two goals. Overall, we were not moving soon enough."

Wade Groenewegen

However, Groenewegen appreciated the Kings' persistence and stronger play as the game went on. "On the plus side, the Kings responded really well in the second half and continued to fight," says Groenewegen. "They aren't all going to be our best games, and today wasn't our best, but we tried some new things and were able to look at some players in different roles. I thought that Matthew Elphick was solid throughout the game and Hugo Janssen made an impact coming off the bench in the second half."

Hugo Janssen

Sunday at 2:00 p.m., the first place SAIT Trojans (3-0-0) will host the second place Red Deer College Kings (1-0-1) in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Men's Soccer South Division action.