A great start was key to advancing to Round 2 of the Coastal Cup playdowns last week.
The Burnaby Metro under-14 boys FC bolted out with two quick goals and held on for a 2-1 triumph over Guildford.
Markers by Josh Greco and Nico Liapis, on a great individual run, set the tone over the opening 45 minutes.
Coach David Zaharija said the game was won with a stellar approach over the final half.
“We were leading but there was still plenty of time,” said Zaharija. “I told them ‘Don’t take it lightly, it’s a 0-0 game and finish strong.’”
While Guildford tallied minutes into the second half, Burnaby regained composure and an edge in possession and held its ground.
Centrebacks Antonio Bruni and Dylan Wells anchored the backline, while the whole team closed ranks and kept Guildford at bay.
The squad, which built momentum with some big wins over top-four rivals down the stretch, now heads to Campbell River for its second Cup game.
“It’s going to be tough,” said Zaharija. “Home pitch advantage really counts, so we expect a big test. We just want to play our style and hope things go our way in the end.”
U13 FC blasts Richmond
A dominating midfield set the foundation for the Burnaby Metro u13 boys FC’s 5-1 victory over Richmond to kick-start the Coastal A Cup playdowns.
Leading the way were Davi Cruz and Luke Aleong, who while keeping the opposition off-kilter at midfield, also counted a goal each.
Stefano Dal Sasso’s give-and-go marker, working with Eric Li, came two minutes after Richmond tied the game. Aleong restored the lead with a highlight-reel tally, beating three defenders to bury it behind a stunned netminder. Joey Cannova, with two, and Cruz rounded out the offence before the first half was finished.
“We played Port Moody in season at home and won, but they are a good team and they will come out and play us hard,” said coach Matt Manfredi.
Bell rings in Metro’s win
With just one loss all year, you could say the Burnaby u18 girls Metro are a powerhouse.
They prefer let their play do all the talking.
Burnaby launched the Coastal A Cup playdowns with a solid 3-1 victory over Vancouver, as Nicole Bell drew assists on all three goals.
Putting the ball in the net were Anjali Dhaliwal, Danijela Gordic and Danielle Pietramala.
Burnaby outscored its competition by 45 goals during the year, but a shootout loss in the league final provided motivation. Getting into the final, Metro is guaranteed a seat at the provincials in July.
Five players will take their game next season to Langara College – Ana Lukic, Giulia Repole, Bell, Dhaliwal and Gordic.
Burnaby hosts Surrey, who they defeated once and tied once, on Sunday, 2 p.m. at Burnaby Lake.
Dynamite rock Fraser Valley
It took extra time, but the Burnaby District Metro u14 girls Dynamite delivered a first round win in Coastal A Cup action.
The Dynamites’ Sabine Girt cashed in a through ball from Aaliyah Robles for the winner in a 3-1 win over Fraser Valley. It was the third time the club had defeated the Valley squad.
Burnaby trailed at the half but found the equalizer off a great tandem play by Cassie Chan and Sarah Svetic, to force extra time. After Girt’s tally, Maneesha Dhaliwal added some insurance with a brilliant run down the left flank past a defender to beat the goalkeeper.
Providing stellar work at midfield were Ali Leung and Chan, while Sammy Gee and Gurneet Sidhu anchored a strong defensive performance.
“Our defenders did an outstanding job tracking (Fraser Valley’s top striker) all game, and basically neutralized this option,” remarked coach Ivan Svetic. “Other than this the game plan was to settle into the game, withstand the pressure of the first 10 minutes, and then play Dynamite football.”
The team now advances to the quarterfinals against West Coast.
Burnaby advances on PKs
Minus one of their top players, the Burnaby Metro u15 boys FC combined their skills and grounded out a 3-2 penalty kick decision over Vancouver in Coastal A Cup first round action.
Scoring both regulation goals was Armando Rodriguez, as FC built up a 2-0 lead. Vancouver rallied to force extra time, and when nothing was solved, it went to a shootout. Netminder Zachary Chien made two key stops, while Richard Culleton, Don Hyun An, Zico Negrin and Nicolas Santarelli cashed in their penalty shots.
The club led the league in goals over the year, as Culleton scored 14 and Santarelli was voted the league’s MVP.
They face Coquitlam this weekend at Burnaby Lake (1 p.m. Saturday), a team they defeated 3-0 and 7-1 previously.
In other Coastal A Cup action, the Burnaby Metro u16 boys United fell 2-0 to Coquitlam and the Gunners were edged 1-0 by Langley, the u18 boys Lakers were doubled up 4-2 by Coquitlam Metro-Ford, the u15 girls Strikers were clipped 3-2 by North Shore, while Coquitlam blanked the u13 girls Barca 3-0.
Blaze win B cup opener
The Burnaby u15 girls Blaze used the past month to recharge and rest after a string of injuries left them shorthanded in some games.
The end result was a 3-0 win over Richmond to kick-off the Coastal B Cup playdowns.
Burnaby grabbed a first-half lead when Margot McCallion converted Elyse Wong’s corner kick, then made it 2-0 off Brigita Cecic’s header. Completing the scoring was Georgia Cheung.
Contributing in the win were Stephanie Ferriera Kay and Nicole Kuhn, who controlled the centre mid, while Cecic, a defender, pulled one ball off the line to keep the clean sheet.
The Blaze now square off against Port Moody.
Momentum top North Shore
Living up to their moniker, the Burnaby u13 girls Momentum stormed into last week’s Coastal B Cup opener and took control early. Goals by Alysha Sidhu and Zoe Mann propelled the squad past North Shore 2-0 to advance to the second round.
Both goals came in the first half. Burnaby was led by a resilient team game and stellar goalkeeping from Riley Sabot.
