St. Croix’s Helenites SC advanced to the USVISF Men’s Premier League Big 4 final with a 4-0 victory over St. Thomas’s top-seeded New Vibes on Saturday afternoon at Bethlehem Soccer Complex, capitalizing on penalty trouble that left their St. Thomas opponents down a man for nearly 50 minutes.
The match featured a homecoming performance from goalkeeper Whelan Joseph, who returned from the United States to compete for Helenites against his former club.
The semifinal showcased two of the winningest programs in Big 4 history, both rosters stacked with national team players. The action-packed match turned decisively in the 42nd minute when New Vibes’ Max Sonder Joseph received a red card for a tackle that left Helenites’ Romario Atkinson limping through the second half.
Playing a man down and without key fixtures like Naqwan Henry and the ejected Joseph, New Vibes battled through a scoreless first half before Helenites took control after the break.
William Schaffer opened the scoring in the 54th minute, and the floodgates soon followed. A foul by New Vibes’ Dante Nicholas in the 65th minute led to a penalty kick opportunity that could have pulled New Vibes back into contention.
Instead, Lentz Bazelais sailed his attempt over the goal. “Tall goalkeeper, very athletic, Lentz knew he needed something special to defeat him,” commentator Kevin Sheppard said. “Unfortunately, he went with power instead of placement.”
Joseph, the former New Vibes keeper, now playing for Helenites, impressed throughout with his athleticism and composure.
“Helenites’s goalkeeper looks very athletic, looks like he can play out,” commentator Kurtice Lewis said. “Looks like more than a goalkeeper. Very good with his feet, very quick, agile.”
“Very tall and athletic, can move, has all the right tools,” Sheppard added.
Joseph’s presence proved particularly valuable as New Vibes continued to search for a lifeline despite their numerical disadvantage. New Vibes goalkeeper Clinson Bonhomme kept his team in the match with crucial saves in the 68th and 71st minutes, but Helenites’s pressure eventually told.
Schaffer doubled the lead in the 71st minute, heading home a corner kick to make it 2-0. Cade Winchester added the third in the 78th minute with another header before Atkinson, the same player who’d been on the receiving end of the red card tackle, beat two defenders and the goalkeeper for Helenites’ fourth goal in the 85th minute.
The lopsided scoreline didn’t diminish New Vibes’ effort in difficult circumstances.
“Kudos to New Vibes,” Lewis said. “They kept their composure and still tried to attack.”
“Shout out to New Vibes for still fighting despite being down a man,” he added later.
For Joseph, the match meant competing against familiar faces and the coach who helped shape his career.
“New Vibes will always have a spot in my story,” Joseph said after the match. “We had a solid group back then, but now you can really see the structure coming together. It’s been almost five years now since I’ve played with them, but there’s always that familiar face in Fabian [Felix] who I really enjoyed playing for. I appreciate the guidance and support he’s given me.”
When asked about returning to the territory for the Big 4, Joseph’s appreciation was evident.
“It felt really good coming back home,” he said. “It’s always love when you touch the island again, especially for something like the Big 4. The energy’s different here — family, friends, the fans, everybody showing love — it just reminds you where it all started.”
Winchester, whose two goals helped secure the victory, kept his focus simple.
“My job is to put the ball in the back of the net,” he said. “You’ve got to finish your chances and that’s what I did tonight.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s final against Raymix, Winchester noted his team’s advantage in securing the match before overtime.
“We’re just going to play our game,” he said. “They have an extra 30 minutes on their legs so we’re looking to tire them out. Let the ball do the work.”
Helenites’s head coach Aaron Abraham encouraged his players to trust themselves throughout the match. When asked about his strategy for the final, he smiled: “I’m going to keep that as a secret.”
The championship match will pit Helenites against second-seeded Raymix FC, who upset top-seeded CAPA on penalty kicks earlier Saturday after 120 scoreless minutes. Raymix’s marathon semifinal means they’ll face Helenites with significantly less recovery time.
“I know these two teams will fight and battle to see who will take it all,” Sheppard said.
Joseph echoed the sentiment when asked about facing Raymix.
“We’re locked in,” he said. “We know what’s at stake — and we respect them as a side — but we’re coming to handle business. At this stage, it’s all about focus, composure, and making the most of every chance. We just have to stick to our plan and play our game.”
The Big 4 final kicks off at 4 p.m. at Bethlehem Soccer Complex. The game will stream live on FIFA+.
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