PDL: Roberts and Musse lead Reading United and Calgary Foothills FC into final

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Jul 29, 2018

Goals by Englishman Kieran Roberts for Reading United and former Canadian U-17 international Ali Musse for Calgary Foothills FC were enough to send their respective teams into the 2018 PDL final.

For Reading United, a 1-0 winner over The Villages SC from Florida, it was the first win in the PDL semifinals in three trips. Calgary Foothills FC, a 1-0 winner over Chicago United FC, lost in the 2016 PDL final to the Michigan Bucks.

Roberts, who will be a senior at Radford University, was in mourning following the death of his grandfather on Monday but he remained with Reading United for the semifinal.

"I realized this was a big game and the team would need me," Roberts told the Reading Eagle. "The coaches, the team came through for me. I gave them the reward in the end."

Roberts' teammates wore black armbands in memory of Roberts' grandfather. Roberts, who hails from Bournemouth, will return home for his grandfather's service and then rejoin Reading United for the final.

Musse's goal broke a scoreless deadlock before 1,250 fans in the Calgary suburb of Okotoks.

The forward was born in Somalia and moved to Winnipeg when he was 6. He began playing in the PDL with WSA Winnipeg when he was 15 and was selected to play for Canada at the 2013 Under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. In 2015, he played for Tyler Junior College when it won the NJCAA Division I title.