It was an incredible display of athleticism, one of the most important goals of the season, and a moment of collective euphoria at MAPFRE Stadium. Kei Kamara's series-winning header in extra time of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Montreal Impact is the 2015 Crew SC Goal of the Year.
The goal gathered 35% of Crew SC supporter votes this week, narrowly beating Justin Meram's nine-second strike against the New York Red Bulls in the First Leg of the Eastern Conference Finals (31%).
The goal was Kamara's second of the match and a moment of redemption. Earlier that night, with the match tied at one and Crew SC trailing the Impact 3-2 in the series, Kamara had missed a crucial penalty for the Black & Gold. But Ethan Finlay leveled the series with a strike in the 78th minute to send the match into extra time and set up a dramatic finish to an electrifying clash at MAPFRE Stadium.
The drama eclipsed in the 111th minute when Finlay picked up the ball on the right flank, taking on four Montreal defenders as he dribbled across the field before feeding the leather to Cedrick Mabwati on the left. The winger then took on Hassoun Camara one-on-one before delivering a perfect cross to the far post, where Kamara rose up to head the ball into the far corner for the series winner. After that it was party time in front of an ecstatic Nordecke.
Here's how Kamara described that moment after the match:
"Actually, it went in and I was running to the side to celebrate with the fans and I didn’t see any of my teammates around me so I thought something went wrong. I thought the referee called something until later, and then I felt people just jumping at me. But, sort of relief – you can’t have it any other way. That’s just how the game’s supposed to go right there. The fans, it was a packed house and they enjoyed every minute of that."
