The Burnaby District Metro Select United have charted a course to the Coastal Cup final.
The under-13 boys metro soccer team will square off against Fraser Valley Real on Saturday in Richmond, battling for the Coastal A Cup banner.
To get there, United topped North Van 2-1 last week in the semifinal.
It only took two minutes for Burnaby to garner the lead, with Rolan Amin converting a nice run that began at midfield.
Although North Van tied it, Markus Rukavina registered the crucial goal to restore United’s lead late in the first half and earn them the final berth.
“It was a huge accomplishment to defeat (North Van), who are very well coached and were previously undefeated,” remarked coach Jovan Lozarevic. “It took a total team effort in order to win this game. The boys are connecting well and playing as one united group.”
Having already secured a spot for the Provincial Cup tournament in July, Burnaby will look to enter with a full-head of steam. In an earlier encounter, United battled Real to a 1-1 draw.
BDMS U16 boys FC
Moments after the opening whistle, the Port Moody Selects seemed to have the ball on a string and levelled a ton of pressure Burnaby’s way in the under-16 Coastal A Cup semifinal.
By weathering that storm, the BDMS FC tapped a reserve of confidence and countered with the game’s first goal on Joey Cannova’s shot at the 15-minute mark, to take control in what would be a strong 3-1 victory.
Burnaby built up a 3-0 lead, with other tallies by Stefano Dal Sasso and Haris Hussaini, all in the first half.
Only a strong performance from Port Moody’s netminder kept the score as close as it was.
Burnaby received standout defensive leadership from Lazar Kraguli and Roan Diepold, and dominated play in the centre of the pitch thanks to the constant pressure of Manolo Aguilar and Gianluca Cuccione.
Now, Burnaby takes aim at a Coastal A Cup title in Saturday’s final against Vancouver.
“During the regular season we beat VFC 1-0 and our last game against VFC was a 1-1 game,” recalled Burnaby coach Leo Cuccione. “Vancouver is a good team and we expect them to come out strong.”
Thanks to a league banner, earned earlier, the FC squad already has a berth to the provincial cup tourney this summer in Burnaby.
BDMS U13 girls FIRE
The Burnaby Fire u-13 girls team prevailed in their Coastal A Cup semifinal, edging Richmond 2-1. They’ll face the Fraser Valley Selects on Sunday in Richmond.
BDMS U17 girls DYNAMITE
It wasn’t the result they had hoped and worked for, but the Burnaby u17 girls Dynamite can hold their heads high for having battled hard in a tough 2-0 loss to Vancouver United.
Scoreless at halftime, the game turned on a miscue early in the second half, resulting in the game-winning goal. Burnaby applied its share of pressure in searching for the equalizer, and created a number of chances that came just shy of the net.
One opportunity hit the post and was corralled by the goalkeeper before the rebound could be converted. The team also took a free kick that bounced off the crossbar.
Vancouver’s second goal came late in the game off a penalty kick.
“Most weekends, with the kind of effort we put forth, would have resulted in a win,” said Dynamite coach Ivan Svetic. “I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Full credit to VUFC and their coaching staff on a great game.”
Svetic noted that the gains made in an overwhelmingly positive season will benefit the crew who return for u18 next fall.
“With the adversity and injuries we’ve faced this season, the girls have had to be resilient, and we are a true team in every sense of the word. We are only as successful as the sum of all our parts, and each one of the girls has been extremely important to our team’s success.”
