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There was plenty for the Foothills team to be proud of on Saturday, as they held their own against a Bucks team that has been the cream of the PDL – the top under-23 development league in the North America – crop over the past 10 years.

The Bucks hadn’t given up a single goal in the playoffs, but both Dominic Russo and Nico Pasquotti managed to open up the Michigan defence and put goals in the back of the net. Pretty ones, too.

Pasquotti’s goal breathed life into a game in which the Bucks had mostly been controlling throughout the first half and provided a much-needed equalizer heading into halfitime.

And when Russo scored, as he’s done so many times throughout the season, it put Foothills up 2-1 and for one shining moment it appeared likely that the sophomore team from Calgary was on the verge of an unlikely championship.

But then the momentum shifted, with the Bucks equalizing in the 75th minute and the referee making his influence felt in the 87th minute when he pointed to the penalty spot after a Bucks player fell in the area after softly running into Foothills captain Jonathan Wheeldon.

“This is football, if it didn’t have controversy it would be boring, wouldn’t it?” said Foothills head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. “It was one of those 50-50 calls, some referees would give it and some wouldn’t. This one didn’t. What stung was the fact that we had one that we felt was a clear penalty moments afterwards and he didn’t give that.”

While there’s no doubt that the Foothills squad will need some time to let the pain of Saturday’s loss fade a little bit, the result doesn’t take away from an otherwise remarkable season.

In only its second year, the team finished atop the standings in PDL’s Northwest Division — which included MLS development teams for the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers — and then stormed through the playoffs en route to being crowned Western Conference champions.

daustin@postmedia.com

@DannyAustin_9