Even when the odds are stacked against you, sometimes the oddsmakers get it wrong. 

Such it was for the Okanagan FC youth soccer club, which saw its U-15 boys and U-14 girls teams win the club's first B.C. club championships recently in Kamloops. 

For the U-15 boys, made up of players from West Kelowna, Summerland, Penticton and Kelowna, their dramatic win in the final on penalty kicks after overcoming a 2-0 first-half deficit qualified them for a berth in the Canadian National Championships to be played in Quinte West, Ont., from Oct. 9-16. 

The U-14 girls played in a division above their age group, romping to the B.C. title with a decisive 6-0 win in the final.

"It's our first B.C. title but the story for me is both teams won them together," reflected Okanagan FC founder Andy Stevenson. 

"For one the boys winning is particularly great because they get to go to another province and play in the nationals and that is awesome...I'm sure it will be exciting and the experience of a lifetime for them.

"It has been at least 10 years since an Interior team won a provincial A cup. That it happens is very rare...not sure when the last Kelowna team won a provincial A cup but it had to be a long time ago."

Stevenson, who initially started the soccer club in 2012 and renamed it Okanagan FC in 2018, said as one of the smaller clubs for player registration in the Okanagan, he called the success of both teams in the provincials "'very satisfying."

"As a smaller club and playing in the Interior, there are a lot of disadvantages in the amount of travel, smaller populations to draw players from, unable to play year-round and having to often travel long distances to practice and play games compared to what teams in the Lower Mainland face," he said. 

"That's why it is not very common for Interior teams to win an A cup."

Braden Peters, the club head coach who handled coaching duties for the U14 girls, said having a team reach the nationals puts the club on the soccer landscape.

"It is recognition for player development, coaching and training commitment that we as a club have created. To be able to showcase that in the provincials and twin two-cup titles (in Kamloops) was pretty amazing actually," Peters said. 

The success of the boys' team was anticipated at the U-14 level last year but the team had difficulty adjusting to the more intense pressure against Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island teams. 

"I would say the difference maker this year was the investment and commitment from the players to buy into what the coaches were teaching them. That led to positive results, to success in tournaments and you build momentum from that," Peters said. 

Leading up to the provincials this year, the U-15 team won a tournament in Kelowna on the Canada Day weekend, played an invitational tournament in Seattle, Wash., and then three days later began the provincial finals tournament.

"I think playing in that Seattle tournament against top competition was a high test level of us and it carried over to the provincials," said Peters. 

"Tournaments like we played in Seattle are very important to give our teams out of their comfort zone and a high-level competition experience to learn from," Peters said.

"That really builds character, gives the kids new soccer experiences and an outlook on the soccer world from outside the Okanagan bubble."

For the A15 boys, after winning their three preliminary games, the final pitted them against the defending Roma squad from the Lower Mainland, who jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first half. 

As the second half unfolded, at a water break at the halfway point, Peters was alerted they were trailing 2-0 which he thought was an insurmountable lead and began to break down the bench and celebrate with the U-14 girls' team as they wrapped up their gold medal win. 

"Then I got a text that we had tied the score 2-2 in the last 10 minutes of the half and I took off running across the (McArthur Park sports field complex) to get there in time for the penalty kicks," Peters said.

"Penalties are the hardest way to win, a stressful way to win, an anxiety-filled moment to be sure.

"But it was an experience all the boys will look back on in 10 or 15 years...it will stick with them forever."