Langley Fundamental's Jacob Sol is the picture of elation after scoring his second goal of the match Wednesday in the Titans' BC AA title-clinching win over Victoria's SMUS Blue Jags at Burnaby Lakes. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)
Feature High School Boys Soccer

Fantastic Fundamentals! First-half barrage carries Langley Fundamental’s Titans to B.C. AA soccer crown

BURNABY — It’s hard to nurse a case of the jitters for very long when a substitute makes his way onto the pitch in the biggest game of the season and promptly scores a goal to open the floodgates.

Tyler Chyzzy finished in close to give Langley Fundamental the all-important 1-0 lead, and teammate Jacob Sol took over from there with two more goals before halftime as the Titans topped defending champion St. Michaels University School Blue Jags of Victoria 3-1 in the B.C. boys AA soccer title match Wednesday afternoon at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex.

The victory gave Langley Fundamental, third-place finishers a season ago, an 18-0-0 record on the campaign.

“Tyler really set the tone and from there, adrenaline kicked in,” said Sol, a Grade 11 sniper who had been ultra-productive through the regular season and the Fraser Valley championships but had managed just one goal over the first four matches heading into the final

“Everyone was on the ball,” he continued. “It all just seemed to flow from that point. I’ve had a bit of a tough tournament and I felt a burden to score for my team. When I got the first one it was a relief. The second one was an awesome way to cap it off.”

Langley Fundamental’s Alexander Roxburgh (right) digs in against the SMUS Blue Jags on Wednesday in Burnaby. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)

The championship is just the second senior varsity sports title in school history, and first since the senior boys volleyball team won the B.C. AA title back in 2013 behind the play of tourney MVP Carson Heppell.

“This is huge for us because in soccer, when the boys won the Fraser Valley title this season, it was our first-ever soccer banner,” said Tamera Shearon, who as the school’s soccer athletic director, has been the program’s guiding force. “We’ve looked up at the provincial volleyball banner and wanted one for soccer.”

Last season, the Titans’ crashed the party at the B.C. tournament, losing to North Vancouver’s Bodwell Bruins in the semifinals but rallying to take home the bronze medal after having no real previous history at the event.

“Everyone was nervous,” said Sol of the mood before Wednesday’s 11:15 a.m. kick-off, “but today, coming in as underdogs and (SMUS) are last year’s champs, you feel like you have nothing to lose.”

Langley’s Fundamental’s Eric Aujla (right) does his best to avoid being undressed during Wednesday’s BC AA soccer final against St. Michaels University School of Victoria. (Varsity Letters photo by Howard Tsumura)

The Blue Jags, who had won the crown in both 2014 and ’16, were able to avoid being shutout when Matt Hagkull scored in the late stages of play.

North Vancouver’s St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints defeated the Saints of PoCo’s Archbishop Carney 2-1 in the bronze medal final.

Langley Fundamenta beat Archbishop Carney 1-0 and SMUS triumphed 1-0 over Aquinas in overtime in Tuesday afternoon’s two semifinal contests.

The B.C. AAA boys soccer championships begin their three-day run Thursday at the same Burnaby Lake Sports Complex.

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