By DAN STICKRADT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
PONTIAC, Mich. - Different venue, same result.
The Thunder Bay Chill repeated as the Premier Developmental League Central Conference champs Saturday night, ousting the top-seeded Michigan Bucks, 2-1, in the conference finals at the Ultimate Soccer Arenas.
Pushed up on a restart, defender Wilson Rodrigues-Neto scored the game-winning goal at 85:09 to help the Chill freeze Michigan in the conference finals for the second straight season.
Last year the Chill toppled Michigan, 2-1, in double-overtime in a match played in Thunder Bay.
Rodrigues-Neto’s left-footed shot from 25 yards out found the netting inside the left goal post. Gustavo Oliveira served the ball on a corner kick and Rodrigues-Neto beat his mark to the loose ball before burying his opportunity.