A pair of Peninsula teams will hit the pitch this weekend, at the Coastal Cup youth soccer tournament at Minoru Park in Richmond.
The Semiahmoo Thunder will square off against the Richmond Red Hot Selects for U16 Coastal Cup banner at 9 a.m, Saturday and on the boys’ side of the bracket, the Peace Arch U13 Rangers – who have reeled off impressive victories in quarter- and semifinal action – are set to face the Comox Valley Red Strike in the Boys B Coastal Cup finals Sunday at 1 p.m.
The games are two of 22 Coastal Cup finals, an annual knockout competition for youth soccer teams on the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
Roughly 300 teams in the 22 categories qualified for the competition, which began April 2-3.
The Peace Arch Rangers, coached by Gretchen McConnell and assistant Terry Amisano, finished the District 5 league with a 6-3-3 record, and advanced to the title match after beating CMF Nitro 2-1 in semifinals and, prior to that, Vancouver’s KLM Ghostriders – who had been undefeated all season – in quarter-final action.
The team has also qualified for provincials, which are scheduled for mid-July in Powell River.
Peace Arch already has one cup win to its credit this season. Prior to playing the Ghostriders, the Rangers won the District Cup with a victory over a fellow Peace Arch squad, the U13 Peace Arch Titans.
Members of the Thunder are also no strangers to championship games, having played in a slew of them since 2005.
Since forming at the U11 level, the Thunder – coached by Val Dion, Brian Palesch, Mike Steer and Rod Buckham – have won the U11 Inter-District Cup, U12 President’s Cup, U12 provincial cup, U13 and U14 Coastal Cup titles and also a silver medal at national championships in 2009.
Last year, they won bronze at provincials.
En route to this year’s Coastal final, Semi defeated UVI United in the first round by a 6-0 score, followed by a 3-1 win over the Victoria Capitals and a 3-0 victory over Vancouver FC.
Additionally, three Thunder players – defender Kyra Steer, keeper Jules McDonald and midfielder Sam Dion will represent B.C. at nationals in Hamilton this July.