The West Coast Metro Selects became the first Alouette district female soccer team in 26 years to win a provincial A cup championship on Sunday, defeating Fraser Valley in a shootout to take the under-16 title.
The last female provincial A cup champion from the valley district was in 1992, when a representative from the former Golden Ears association won.
The West Coast Selects were tied 1-1 with the Fraser Valley Selects after regulation time Sunday at Minorou Park in Richmond. The game went to a shootout, during which West Coast scored on all four of its attempts.
Fraser Valley scored on two.
The West Coasat Selects advanced to the final after winning all of their round robin games: 2-1 over Fraser Valley; 3-2 over Upper Island Riptide; and 2-1 over Burnaby Dynamite.
The core group of Select players has been playing together since u-11. The group came in third place at the provincials two years ago in the u-14 division.
After a disappointing finish last season, the team continued to work hard and battled through numerous injuries throughout the season to qualify for provincials by winning Coastal Cup in May.
Brayden Gant started coaching the team this season and said the provincial cup victory was an 11-month process in the making.
“The girls sacrificed a lot throughout the year to prepare for this moment. They demonstrated great character and mental toughness in the lead up and during the final game,” he added.
“Every girl contributed to the team’s success this season. It was a collective effort as the team displayed great team chemistry and belief, both on and off the field. I am beyond proud of this group of girls.”
Neil Turner, technical director WCAGFC, is also proud of the players, for their committment to becoming better, and their coach.
“It is great to see a coach who started his soccer in this community and has captained his university team in the CIS come back and invest in young players in his home community,”Turner said of Gant, who played at Trinity Western University.
“He has shown this team what it takes to be winners.”
Members of the Selects: Dillon Amarasinghe, Katie Carr, Kayla Colquhoun, Erica Daskis, Aimee Dingwall, Lily Ferguson, Madison Ferguson, Georgia Hamnett, Mady Hausch, Sydney Hendricks, Gaby Hyde, Sue Kang, Tesia Kelleway, Keona Nordquist, Emily Pretzer, Hanna Rebalkin, Megan Robertson, and Shyla Sterling.
