It wasn't the result he was hoping for yet Stephen Burns still likes his team's chances heading into next week's B.C. "AAA" Girls Soccer Championships.
The longtime head coach and his South Delta Sun Devils saw their bid to repeat as Fraser Valley champions fall just short in a 2-1 loss last Thursday to league rival Panorama Ridge. The visiting school from Newton struck first in the opening moments of play and took a 2-0 lead into the second half when South Delta finally found its form.
It was just the Sun Devils second loss of the season but it could serve them well when they make their record-setting 11th consecutive appearance at the 16-team tournament, starting Thursday at Newton Athletic Park.
"That was the first time this season we have surrendered a goal in the opening half and it really set the tone," said Burns. "(Panorama Ridge) is a good team and was full value for the win but we just didn't take the play to them the way we are capable of doing or create the number of scoring chances we usually do. We can play a lot better and at least we showed that in the second half."
"We had lost just one game (an exhibition against Point Grey) and the girls really hadn't faced any adversity before. A game like that might help us in the long run."
South Delta is coming off a fourth place finish at the provincials a year ago with all 11 starters back for another try, including four Grade 12s. The graduating players on the team feature Tara Nordin and Robyn Mitchell who have been playing at the senior level since Grade 8 when South Delta captured its one and only provincial title.
"This is a really nice mix of players," continued Burns. "All the heavyweights are back and there are probably six or seven teams capable of winning it. We are definitely right in the mix."
The format for the provincials sees the 16 teams divided into four round-robin pools with only the four group winners staying in championship contention and advancing directly to the semi-finals. The Devils seem to have a favourable draw with Kitsilano, Mt Boucherie (Okanagan) and Belmont (Vancouver Island). Now they just have to take advantage of it.
Corner kicks... While the current teacher's labour dispute has taken its toll on a number of senior girls soccer programs across the province, it will not have an impact on the calibre of competition at the provincials.
"There's about six or seven of us longtime coaches who have stuck through it," added Burns. "The rest have relied a lot on parent coaches."
One of the hardest hit areas was in Richmond, that saw its entire district league cancelled with only one school fielding a team.
