THUNDER BAY – In a battle of offence against defence, Mitchell Osmond knows keeping the ball out of their net will be the key for the Thunder Bay Chill to advance to their first league final in four years.
The Chill, the stoutest defensive team in the entire 72-team Premier Development League after only allowing eight goals this season, will face their most dangerous test yet against a Golden State FC Force squad that scored the third-most in the circuit as they host this weekend’s league semifinal.
When one defensive breakdown can derail championship aspirations, especially against an opponent with that much firepower, it takes a complete team effort to lock in and form an impenetrable wall.
“In order to win a championship, especially in this league, I think that’s how it has to be,” Osmond said on Wednesday during a training session at Fort William Stadium.
“The coaches really drilled that into us from the preseason and it stuck. The guys have really taken it on board and it’s showing now.”
So far so good for the Chill, who came away with their first Central Conference banner since 2013 after a pair of clean sheets from keeper David Elias, backstopping the club to two consecutive 2-0 wins first over K-W United FC and then defeating archrival Des Moines Menace in the conference final.
Osmond, the club’s stalwart defender who earned a selection to the all-conference team, said the defensive effort extended from his colleagues on the backline all the way up to striker Sullivan Silva.
With three of Thunder Bay’s four tallies coming in the first half, those early advantages allowed the team to focus on protecting the lead.
Chill coach Giovanni Petraglia believes when his team is firing like they were last weekend, they’re going to be very difficult to beat.
“Both games, especially the final against Des Moines, we played a perfect game,” Petraglia said. “We’re becoming a very mature team. The first half, we knew we had to force to win the game. The first half we totally dominated the game.”
While Thunder Bay has specialized in stymieing their opponents, Golden State has advanced to this stage by lighting up the scoreboard. The Western Conference champions netted 45 goals in 14 regular season contests, boasting dynamic striker Mark Verso. The Stanford alum notched the second-most tallies in the league with 13 for the second straight season.
Facing a club that scored nearly twice as many as the Chill’s 26 goals, it’s imperative to repeat the formula that earned Thunder Bay the conference title.
“We hope for that kind of start. We know we have to start to win the game and we want to always lead the game,” Petraglia said. “If we can get behind the ball and catch a break, that’s our strength. We prefer to be up and not have to chase down our opponent.”
Midfielder Abraham Villon, a member of the 2013 Chill team that lost in the league final, knows they can’t let up for even a minute to go all the way.
“That’s something we’ve emphasized all year, just to stay switched on for the whole 90 (minutes) even on dead balls and situations like that,” Villon said. “That’s the thing about soccer. You never know what’s going to happen and you just have to prepare yourself as best you can and let the rest unfold.”
The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night at Fort William Stadium. The winner will move on to challenge either the Mississippi Brilla or the Charlotte Eagles for the league title.
