Getting a complete line-up together and building continuity will be keys for success as South Delta Secondary begins its quest for an 18th straight trip to the high school girls’ provincial soccer championships.
The Sun Devils are 2-0 in regular season play thanks to an 8-0 win over Delta Secondary on April 8 and a 7-1 win over Seaquam on Monday.
“The games have been a little easier than I anticipated. We matched up well with both teams we’ve played so far,” said Stephen Burns, who is once again sharing the coaching reins with Brent Sweeney. “We played in a tournament last week against some of the stronger schools and we tied McMath.”
Burns said once again the Sun Devils feature a young group of players and getting everyone available will be key as they enter the hardest part of their regular season schedule.
“Getting a full line-up is becoming more of an issue based on club coaches and different sports telling them that they can’t play this and can’t play that and to be honest we have had that happen to us every game so far,” said Burns.
“So it’s been pretty hard because it’s hard to get a flow going. It’s been a challenge. Hopefully in the next few weeks it will be more consistent with all the girls out. We have a really young team – one Grade 12 and two Grade 11s and the rest are all juniors -- so it’s really important to have a full team.”
SDSS has games remaining against Elgin Park, LA Matheson, Sullivan Heights and Panorama Ridge – all schools that are consistently among the top of the table in the Fraser Valley conference.
“Last year and in previous years we didn’t have as many issues with players being pulled all over the place, but so far this year we have and it’s going to show because the league schedule is getting tougher,” he said.
“All of these teams we play next all have a good shot at getting into the Valleys, so for us it’s building on consistent play, staying healthy and having everyone available. If we do that we will have a good shot at getting to provincials again. We have to continue to get better to see that success.”
DSS is off to a 0-3 start in league play as the Pacers followed up their season-opening defeat to SDSS with losses to LA Matheson (4-2) and Sullivan Heights (4-1).
DSS heads to North Delta on April 24 for a match against Seaquam.
