Wilmot U17 boys rally to Twin Rivers Soccer League championship

The Wilmot U17 boys soccer team captured the Twin Rivers Soccer League championship after defeating first-place Ayr Red 1-0 in extra time in the semifinals before earning a 2-0 victory over Paris Purple in the championship game. Team members are, standing from left, coaches Justin Lopez and Matt Gedcke, Devanca Sofiyanto, Caiden Dippel, Will McClements, Evan Young, Isaiah Ngeno, Eli Zister, Gabriel Jones, John Weiss, Tomas Ferro and Jared Dippel. Kneeling are Ben Kittel, Parker Smith, Sawyer Zimmer, Parker Fung, Andrew Mol, Nicolo Folino, Emmett Campbell and Marius Di Carlo. Absent from the photo are Stirling Green and Ali Reza. Contributed photo

By Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette staff

A challenging regular season ended with a championship celebration for the Wilmot U17 boys soccer team.

After recording just one win during the regular season, Wilmot put together an impressive playoff run to capture the Twin Rivers Soccer League championship.

The team delivered a major upset to first-place Ayr Red with a 1-0 win in extra time in the semifinals before returning home to defeat Paris Purple 2-0 in the championship game.

Head coach Matt Gedcke said the team's determination and belief in one another made the title run possible.

"Throughout this season, coach Justin and I found the team's resilience inspiring," Gedcke said. "Despite only having one win this regular season, the boys never backed down and gave our playoffs everything they had."

Gedcke said the players' commitment to working together ultimately paid off.

"We worked hard enough to finish the season as champions, and this season is proof that no matter how tough the odds are, you can accomplish any goal if you believe and work hard together as a team."

The championship capped off a memorable postseason for a team that refused to let its regular-season record define its season.