The UBC Okanagan Heat men’s soccer team has added a championship keeper for the fall of 2013.
Michael Sexton, the netminder of the undefeated provincial champion Okanagan Mission Secondary Huskies, has committed to the UBC Okanagan program.
Sexton was a standout in net for his Huskie squad all season long, allowing only two goals in the five tournaments that OKM entered this season. His season was highlighted by his near perfect performance at the B.C. High School Provincial Championships, allowing just one goal against in five games. Sexton even delivered when the final game went into penalty kicks, stopping enough shots to hand the championship to the Huskies, the school’s first provincial banner in any sport in 21 years.
Originally from Prince George, the 5-foot-10 keeper moved to Kelowna just a year and a half ago and took over as keeper for the OKM Huskies.
Currently, Sexton is the keeper for the Thompson Okanagan FC U18 club team and when he joins UBCO and head men’s soccer coach Dante Zanatta in the fall, he will enter the Arts faculty of UBC’s Okanagan campus with a goal of a BA Undergrad in Political Science and hopes of then entering law school.
Zanatta thinks his recruit can make an immediate impact and has the tools to succeed at the university level, describing Michael as “a very athletic keeper; he has very good hands and he has decent feet. He has the opportunity of coming into the university and fighting for a position.”
With a focus on just school and soccer, coach Zanatta should have no trouble working with his new keeper and already has plans to do so, noting that he will “get Michael to work on those [areas where he can develop] over the next period of time and come into the university and earn his spot.”
Sexton will look to bring more than just hands and feet to the position, and he talked about his role as keeper, and as a communicator. “Being a goaltender part of the job is to be able to talk with the team,” explained the soon-to-be OKM grad. “From my point of view I can see the entire field. I hope I am able to bring a positive influence from the back line on the soccer pitch, opening up communication from the back of the pitch to the front lines.”
Sexton brings a winning tradition along with him, having won two provincial championships during his high school years.
“I am a fortunate player, being that I have successfully won two provincial championships,” he said. “One in the 2010 Provincial B championships with my club team from Prince George, and the second with my high school team from Kelowna, OKM Huskies, this provincial championship [with OKM] was the highlight of my soccer career,” added Sexton.
Sexton is the second recruit to sign with Dante’s club this off-season; he will join the team with midfielder Alex Lazazzera as first year players on the Heat this fall. Lazazzera is finishing school at Notre Dame, the school OKM defeated 5-0 in the high school championship semi-final.
