Storm FC’s bid for a Manitoba Major Soccer League Championship has ended.
On Tuesday night, Storm FC were edged out by Akal FC by a score of 2-1 in the Division 5 semi-finals at Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex.
Goals from Akal’s Sukhpreet Ghatoure and Karanpreet Singh were the difference makers in the one-goal game, as Carlos Barkman scored the lone goal for the Storm.
Akal advanced to take on Borderless Ballers FC in the Div. 5 championship with the win.
For Storm FC, they fell one game short of an improbable championship appearance after squeaking into the playoffs two weeks ago.
The Storm qualified for the sixth and final playoff spot after a late winning streak at the end of the regular season, which came down to their final match.
After qualifying for the play-in round, Storm had to do things the hard way by needing to win out in the playoffs.
Last week, Storm upset third-ranked BFR AC 1-nil to advance to the semi-final.
Having to play against the league’s best on Tuesday, Storm FC ran out of steam in the semi-finals after winning five of their previous six matches.
“Always disappointing having your season end, especially in a game that was winnable so close to the finals,” said Storm FC’s Kai Friesen. “We aren’t leaving our outdoor season with a sour taste in our mouths though. We won lots of important games going into the postseason and can feel really good heading into indoor and start dreaming about what our team will look like next year.
Their season ends as they finish with an 8-9-3 record and a top four finish.
The indoor MMSL season begins in mid-November.
