Familiarity can breed contempt, but in the case of the Burnaby Metro girls under-18 Selects, it brought knowledge.
Against a team they’d faced two times before, the Selects rolled out to an early lead and held on to top Surrey Pegasus 3-1 to advance to the Coastal A Cup semifinals.
Last year’s Coastal and Provincial Cup champs, Burnaby took the lead when Sara Cirillo finished off a set-up from Nicole Bell 20 minutes into the game.
Bell would collect what proved to be the winner, drilling a shot from the 18-yard line that slid in off the far post 10 minutes later.
“This group is an interesting story,” noted manager Mike Bell. “When they came together five years ago it seemed they lost nearly every game, but by the end of that season they started to come together.... Two years ago they finished third (at the provincials) and last year won the league, Coastal Cup and the provincials.”
Although Surrey cut the deficit by a goal 15 minutes into the second half and pushed forward, the Selects held their ground, with Danijela Gordic counting the insurance tally. Bell proved a force at striker, generating numerous offensive chances, while netminder Alicia Muster made a couple of key saves late in the first half.
Burnaby, which is coached by Ned Forcan, now heads to Surrey to play Guildford, with the winner advancing to the final.
Selects blank Port Moody
In a tightly contested Coastal A Cup quarterfinal, the Burnaby Metro Select FC boys pulled out all the stops en route to a 2-0 victory over the Port Moody Dynamo last week.
Burnaby, who won both previous encounters by one goal against Port Moody, needed a stellar performance from its backline to hold the Dynamo in check.
Joey Cannova’s header off a corner kick, well-placed by Kyle Beach, proved to be the game-winner. The squad got another goal by Luke Aleong off a long shot from 35 yards out that was just too hot for the Port Moody goalkeeper to hold onto.
Burnaby now turns its focus to Langley – another squad they dominated during the regular season – in Saturday’s semifinal at Burnaby Lake West (10 a.m.).
“We played them hard three times – they are big and strong – (but) we managed to win the games,” remarked Select FC coach Matt Manfredi said. “It’s anybody’s game (but) we have home field advantage… We want to reach the finals and will do our best to compete well.”
In other Coastal Cup A action, the Burnaby u15 boys FC doubled up on Coquitlam 4-2, and now visit Port Moody for the Cup semifinal on Saturday, 10 a.m.... The Upper Island Riptide ended the Burnaby u14 boys FC season in a 3-1 decision... There were no explosions for the Burnaby Metro u14 girls Dynamite, who fell 4-1 to West Coast in their quarterfinal... The Coquitlam Metro-Ford Extreme stopped the Burnaby u16 girls 2-0 to end their Coastal Cup run.
Blaze remain red-hot
It’s off to the Coastal B Cup semifinals for the Burnaby girls u15 Blaze, after a 3-0 triumph over Port Moody last week.
Standout performances at midfield from Georgia Cheung, Stephanie Ferriera Kay and Nicole Kuhn set the tone, with the latter two counting key goals.
Also scoring was Paige Heaslip, off a corner kick.
Goalkeeper Samantha Loutet withstood all Port Moody’s attack to record the shutout. Burnaby now plays host to Powell River, 1 p.m. on Sunday at Burnaby Central.
