Port Coquitlam’s Archbishop Carney Stars have been brilliantly aligned on the pitch all season Next week, they get a chance to discover whether they have enough collective shine to bring the program its first senior boys provincial soccer title.
“This is one of those teams that comes along once every blue moon,” states Carney head coach Mate Zvicer, whose team opens as one of the sides to beat at the B.C. Double A championships, which begins a three-day run Monday at the Burnaby Lake Sports Complex. “They are the kinds of kids who says ‘High pressure, no problem.’ They are leaders.”
En route to its 5-0 win over Aldergrove in the Fraser Valley championship final last Thursday in which Jorge Brizuela and Mike North each scored a pair of goals, the Stars compiled a 10-1-0 record in combined league and playoff games, outscoring its foes 62-7 in the process. If you include the 4-0-0 record it fashioned in winning the season-opening B.C. Catholic School championship tournament in September, Archbishop Carney carries a 14-1-0 record into its B.C. tournament round robin-opening match against D.P. Todd of Prince George on Monday (11 a.m.).
The squad is powered by five players who compete in B.C. Soccer’s High Performance League. Bryan Cadman (centre midfield) and Anthony Martin (sweeper) are the team’s acknowledged leaders, but Zvicer says what is special about his team is that the leadership intangible is also supplied via committee. Other Stars who play in the HPL are fullback Jeffrey Cadman and strikers North and Brizuela.
Soccer has become a signature sport at the school, especially since 2009, when the team which featured current Simon Fraser Clan star Carlo Basso, lost to North Delta’s Sands Scorpions 1-0 in the B.C. title match.
“I was coaching the junior team that year, and that run just built on what has always been a big sport at our school,” says Zvicer, who coaches the team with Daniel Bordignon.
The contingent coming out of the Fraser Valley is once again deep and strong with Aldergrove, Maple Ridge’s Samuel Robertson Technical, and Sands making up the rest of the four-deep field. The latter not only beat the Stars in the 2009 B.C. final, but also in last season’s Fraser Valley final, which was decided on penalty kicks. Carney was able to return the favour this season, with a 3-0 win over the Scorpions in opening round of Fraser Valley playoffs.
Archbishop Carney is seeded No. 1 in its pool, where it is grouped with Summerland, Gulf Islands and D.P. Todd. Other teams seeded at the top of their pools: Campbell River’s Carihi Tyees, Kelowna’s Okanagan-Mission Huskies, and Burnaby’s Cariboo Hill Chargers.
“The guys are pumped,” adds Zvicer of the upcoming provincials, which will close Wednesday following the championship final slated for 11:45 a.m. “So far we’ve met two of our goals (winning the B.C. Catholic and the Fraser Valley titles), and the third is coming.”
The B.C. Triple A boys championships begins the day after the Double A final, running next Thursday through Saturday at Burnaby Lake.
Lower Mainland champion Kitsilano Blue Demons of Vancouver and Fraser Valley champion Tamanawis Wildcats of Surrey are among the favorites in the 16-team field.
The Wildcats foiled the opportunity for something of a rare Double A-Triple A double from Port Coquitlam. Neighbouring Terry Fox Secondary began the Valley Triple A tournament as the 14th seed, yet advanced all the way to the final, losing 6-2 to Tamanawis in the title tilt.
Four schools have combined to win the last six boys Triple A titles and three of them are a part of the field this season in North Vancouver’s Handsworth Royals, the Dr. Charles Best Blue Devils from Coquitlam, and the defending champion Enver Creek Cougars of Surrey.
SOCCER
BOYS
B.C. DOUBLE A CHAMPIONSHIPS
MONDAY
9 a.m. — Carihi vs. Smithers, Notre Dame vs. Samuel Robertson, Okanagan-Mission vs. LV Rogers, Aldergrove vs. Sentinel
11 a.m. — Archbishop Carney vs. DP Todd, Summerland vs. Gulf Islands, Cariboo Hill vs. Sands, SMUS vs. Sa-Hali
12:45 p.m. — Okanagan-Mission vs. Sentinel, Aldergrove vs. LV Rogers, Carihi vs. Samuel Robertson, Notre Dame vs. Smithers
2:45 p.m. — Cariboo Hill vs. Sa-Hali, SMUS vs. Sands, Archbishop Carney vs. Gulf Islands, Summerland vs. DP Todd
TUESDAY
9 a.m. — Archbishop Carney vs. Summerland, Gulf Islands vs. DP Todd, Cariboo Hill vs. SMUS, Sa-Hali vs. Sands
11 a.m. — Carihi vs. Notre Dame, Samuel Robertson vs. Smithers, Okanagan Mission vs. Aldergrove, Sentinel vs. LV Rogers
12:45, 2:45 p.m. — Pool crossover rounds. Pool winners advance to semifinals
WEDNESDAY
9, 11 a.m. — Placing games
11:45 a.m. — Championship final
