Two budding soccer players from Corner Brook have every reason to be wearing a big smile.
Nathan Brake and Ayo Owolabi helped Newfoundland and Labrador claim gold at the 2018 Atlantic U16 male soccer championships in Halifax on Sunday.
The provincial squad defeated Prince Edward Island 3-2 in a gold-medal showdown that was decided by penalty kicks. The result meant the team finished with a perfect 4-0 record.
Meanwhile, three other teams from the province came away with silver medals for their fine effort.
At Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, the host N.L. side lost 1-0 to Nova Scotia in the gold-medal game of the girls U14 event. In the Atlantic girls U13 championship, being held concurrently at the Rainbow Gully pitch in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, Newfoundland finished third, ending its schedule with a 2-0 win over P.E.I.
Other N.L. teams with runner-up finishes were the male U14 team, which dropped a 2-0 decision to New Brunswick in a final played at Charlottetown, P.E.I., and the province’s female U16 entry, which was blanked 2-0 by Nova Scotia in their championship game at Moncton, N.B.
The male U13 team from Newfoundland beat host P.E.I. on penalty kicks to finish third at their event in Charlottetown, while the N.L. male U15 side (in Halifax) and female U15 entry (in Moncton) were both fourth.
