Chill tie Colorado 1-1, fail to clinch division title

The celebration will have to wait a week.

With a win on Saturday night the Thunder Bay Chill would have clinched the Premier Development League’s Heartland Division, but missed opportunities and perhaps a case of looking beyond its immediate opponent means the team still has some work to do.

“I think that’s just mental preparation,” said Chill midfielder Nolan Intermoia, whose second-half header salvaged a 1-1 against the visiting Real Colorado Foxes, a team fighting for its playoff life and in desperate need of a win in its final regular season game.

“We’re all good clinical finishers ... We’ve got the goals this year to prove it. But when it comes down it in front of the goal you’ve got to be mentally prepared to finish those chances because those are the (difference) between a win and a tie.”

Well, that and a hot goalie.

Miguel Rosales stopped anything and (almost) everything directed his way by a Chill offense bursting with opportunities, especially in the second half of the tightly fought contest.

Time and time again he thwarted sure goals with acrobatic saves. In the 71st minute he kept Brandon Swartzendruber honest, coming out of nowhere to snag a header destined for the back of the net. Eleven minutes later Zetroy Robertson thought he had a sure goal off a Gustavo Oliveira free kick, but Rosales thwarted him from point-blank range and the game remained tied.

Chill coach Tony Colistro didn’t want to hear excuses. Not with so much on the line. The game, he said, reminded him a little too much of a 1-1 tie last month against Des Moines, a game that came on the heels of a 7-2 thrashing the night before. This time around the Chill (11-1-2) won the opener 2-0, but couldn’t sustain the momentum the following night.

“In that second game we’ve got to come out stronger,” Colistro said. “We’ve got to put our chances away.”

That’s just what Real Colorado did in the opening 45 minutes. Mark Marten broke free in the 23rd minute and out-faked Chill goalie Stephen Paterson, giving the Foxes a 1-0 lead that stood up until the second half.

Thunder Bay had plenty of chances to even the score, but it wasn’t until Intermoia used his head in the 56th minute to redirect an Oliveira free kick into the net that their effort turned into fruition.

The tie extended the Chill’s unbeaten streak to 11 games, their only loss coming in early June to Rochester, the team chasing them in the Heartland Division standings – and next weekend’s opponent on the final weekend of the regular season.

The Thunder are eight points behind the Chill, with three games left on their schedule. They play Kansas City on Sunday. A loss or a tie in that game would give Thunder Bay the division title.