A pair of Chilliwack FC grads will play in a national championship tournament this October.
Melissa Palmer and Breanne Weflen are 13 years old and have played together since they were nine.
This year the teens starred for Surrey United at the Premier League level, helping their team win the league title.
“Then we traveled to Kelowna and beat a Vancouver team 6-0 in the provincial final,” Weflen explained. “And now we’re getting ready to go to Moncton, NB. for nationals.”
The U-14 Cup will run Oct. 5-10, pitting the Chilliwack girls and their teammates against club champions from eight provinces/territories.
“One of our coaches said that if we play like we did in Kelowna, we’ll be one of the teams playing for a medal,” Palmer said. “I think being there is going to be great.”
The two girls made the jump to Surrey this season after spending the last two years with a Langley team that lost more than it won.
Palmer and Weflen, both outgoing girls who make friends easily, fit perfectly with their new crew.
“Going from a team that was way at the bottom and switching to a team that wins it all within a couple months, it’s been really cool and different,” Weflen said with a grin.
“The drive to practice four days a week is longer than our practices,” Palmer added. “But it’s been worth it.”
Palmer describes Weflen as a really fast striker who is ridiculously tough to stop one-on-one.
Weflen describes Palmer as an aggressive and ‘super fast’ fullback who can’t be beat one-on-one.
Both girls have their eye on scholarship opportunities and view the U-14 Cup as a way to get there.
Already, many of their games are attended by next-level scouts, but the spotlight will shine extra bright in Moncton.
So serious is this tournament that girls won’t be seeing their parents after they arrive.
The players will be housed in a different hotel and the focus will be 110 per cent on soccer.
“The tournament is five days but we’re actually flying a few days before to get used to the change in time zones,” said Palmer, who’s never traveled further east than Saskatchewan. “The whole thing is going to be different.”
The girls go to Moncton hoping to win, but know the competition will be tough.
“If our team plays as well as we can and we still don’t win, I still think it’ll be a success,” Palmer said.
“Even if we don’t get the best result, if everyone’s happy with themselves at the end of the trip, then it’s good,” Weflen added.
See canadasoccer.com/schedule-results-s15498
