MILTON – A hot goaltender is usually a recipe for success.

Luckily for Sutton, the Sammies have two, and they were in attendance for all to witness at Curry College Saturday. Issac Bradley pitched a shutout in net to force a shootout, and then Paul Kupker finished the deal in penalty kicks (a 3-1 win), as second-seeded Sutton captured its sixth boys soccer championship with a 1-0 shootout victory over Dearborn STEM Academy in the Div. 5 finals.

“They’re a hell of a team,” said Sutton coach Mike Elster. “We knew they were highly athletic. We knew that they were actually skilled one vs. one players. So we were nervous. This was a different type of team than the one we played in the regular season. So we knew it was going to be a game.”

That it was, and the championship played out as a defensive war with few scoring chances. Once the second half began to wear on, things began to open up a bit more. Still knotted in a scoreless affair in the 66th minute, Dearborn star Sam Amara fired a long range dart toward the Sutton net. In heroic fashion, Bradley made the save of the game, tipping the shot off the crossbar to preserve the tie, a score which would hold through two overtime sessions.

In a surprising twist, Elster decided to turn to a newcomer to the team for the ensuing shootout – Kupker. Originally from West Germany and primarily a midfielder, Kupker was studying abroad at Sutton High School this semester, and had decided to join the program. Quite a situation to be tossed into.

“We had planned for that,” said Elster. “Issac, our keeper for the game, is outstanding. He really is. He’s a high-level keeper and does a great job. We recognized, and we knew that Paul had a keeper background. So we tested him. We found, after we were working on PKs for weeks, because sometimes it comes down to that, that the bottom line was that Paul demonstrated that he was a better keeper at PKs. So we talked to Issac, Issac completely understood. The team understood.”

Once the shootout commenced, Sutton converted on all three opportunities, as Matthew Mulderig, Kyle Kolofsky and Brady Pitts each sniped their attempt. Meanwhile, Kupker recorded a clutch save, setting the stage for his moment with his team ahead 3-1 in the session. The next Dearborn shot rolled wide left of the post, and Sutton fans stormed the field to greet him and his teammates. The junior will always cherish the memory, and will forever be a champion on this side of the pond. It was the first title for the Sammies since 2014.

“I’m leaving in December after Christmas,” laughed Kupker. “So I didn’t move permanently. I signed up for the program because I wanted to experience the American experience. It’s so different from the German one. I came, and I’ve been here three months now.”

Kupker continued.

“At first, it’s so different,” Kupker said. “It’s just overwhelming with all the new experiences, but as I said earlier, the team welcomed me. The day after I landed here, I went to their game, and they were like: ‘Come sit with us on the bench.’ Such nice people, all of them, and they made it easier for me to fit in. We had a great team spirit over the season.”