Long and successful soccer seasons came to an end last weekend with local teams and players reaching the podium at the Provincial Cup Championships.
In North Vancouver, the U16 Ladner Vipers and U15 Tsawwassen Blues both came away with medals at the Provincial "B" Cup tournament and it was nearly gold for both of them.
The Vipers were within seconds off adding a B.C. title to their Coastal Cup championship when the Williams Lake Storm scored the equalizer deep in injury time and went on to pull off a 2-1 win in penalty kicks.
Ladner's run to the final included a huge 1-0 win over heavily favoured Kelowna in round-robin play. The girls also defeated the North Shore Vipers 3-1 and battled Pinnacles FC of Penticton to a 1-1 draw.
"We are incredibly proud of what the girls have achieved this season - shared league title, Coastal Cup champs and now silver at the provincials," said Vipers coach Dirk Schwuchow.
The U15 Blues didn't reach the championship game but they were near flawless en route to earning bronze.
Tsawwassen had to win a wild card game to draw into the championships but quickly showed it would be a force to be reckon with. The locals dumped the Quesnel Strikers 4-1 in their opening match then battled Coastal Cup champions West Vancouver Spuraways to a scoreless draw.
The Blues closed out round-robin play with a 1-0 victory over the Nelson Selects, but the Spuraways were given the nod for the final by edging Tsawwassen 5-4 on goal differential. The locals went on to defeat Vernon United 1-0 in penalty kicks for bronze, while West Van blanked Powell River 1-0.
Coaches Lisa Bremner, Angie Wells and Hank Enns are extremely proud of the girls' performance, and the work ethic of each and every player.
The girls have been dedicated throughout the year, playing strong and consistently at every opportunity.
The team is full of amazing athletes. The solid defensive line of Monique LaRiviere, Mia Simpson, Sinead Swan, Jamie Wells, Andrae Coschizza shut down the attacks, and were backed by a stellar performance in goal by Damara Begin. There were tireless efforts by midfield players Lauren Joyce, Danica McCormack, Caitlin Worth, Taya Bremner, Brynn Johnstone and Emma Shaefer. The attack was driven by constant pressure of forwards Julia Sasaki, Ava Simpson and Ella Taylor. On the sidelines the job of videographer by Hermann Glokll kept the girls on their toes and looking good.
Meanwhile, two regional selects girls teams were bringing home gold from the Provincial "A" Cup Championships in Langley which featured Metro clubs battling for B.C. supremacy.
The U16 Delta Selects went unbeaten in round-robin play (2-0-1) then produced a convincing 3-0 win over the Upper Vancouver Island Storm. The Selects roster features Tsawwassen players Lauren Gau and Sidney Lowe.
At the U18 girls level, Coastal FC avenged an earlier loss to Coquitlam Metro Ford by edging their league rival 2-1 in the final. The team includes Tsawwassen's Lauren Shirley.
In boys U18 play, local players Andrew Lipton and Tyler Johnson helped Richmond United reverse the outcome of last May's Coastal Cup final with a 3-2 win over Burnaby to take provincial gold.
