FC LONDON DEFEATS COLORADO IN SHOOTOUT TO ADVANCE TO CENTRAL CONFERENCE FINALS

Thunder Bay, ON – FC LONDON claimed a huge win over the Real Colorado Foxes 4-3 in penalty shots in their Central Conference Semi-Final match this evening.

Fans in Thunder Bay were treated to some suspenseful soccer in the first day of the tournament as the game would remain scoreless through regulation as well as the 30 minutes of extra time. “We were unlucky not to score during the 90 minutes,” said FC LONDON Head Coach Martin Painter. “Shot after shot was wide or hit bodies on the way to the net.” London had 11 corner kicks and outshot Colorado 17-5, forcing the Foxes’ keeper to make 10 saves.

The draw would be resolved in a shootout. Painter explained, “We’ve been working on penalty shots during practice for the last few weeks, as soon as we saw playoffs were in sight.” That practice certainly paid off tonight. After going down 1:0 on the first round of shots, Boyd, Cekic, Ayris, and Hemming put away the next four shots and Richardson brought it home with a huge save. “My hat is off to Reece on a solid performance in net. He came up big on a save late in the game and was even bigger on the penalty shots.” This marks Richardson’s fifth shutout of the 2013 season.

FC LONDON will face hosts Thunder Bay Chill tomorrow at 6:00pm. The Chill move forward after knocking out the Michigan Bucks 1-0 with a goal in the 38th minute. Thunder Bay finished the regular season with 37 points at the top of the Heartland Division. They are a well-organized team and Painter is aware that anyone who can take down the Bucks will be a handful. However, he is confident that his squad can come out with a win for the Central Conference Title tomorrow. “We just need to play our game.”

FC LONDON keeper Reece Richardson makes the final save to secure the game in penalty kicks for FC London in their defeat of Real COLORADO Foxes in Thunder Bay CANADA (photo courtesy of Joe Farina)

Rory Winters works to keep Colorado at bay during yesterdays game in the Central Conference Championships in Thunder Bay Canada. (photo by Joe Farina) — 
in Thunder Bay, Ontario.