On July 6, the U-15 Guildford Rangers Boys’ soccer team won their second Provincial “A” title in three years. The team entered the Provincial tournament in Prince George, seeded third behind Richmond Selects and the Vancouver Selects.
It was evident after their first match that Guildford were out to prove they were the best team in the province as they handed Vancouver their worst defeat of the year, winning by a 4-1 margin. Guildford were thus able to avenge their penalty kicks loss to Vancouver in the Coastal Cup semi-finals.
Forwards Jason Deo and Ryan Dhillon had strong games and were unlucky not to score more goals. Coach Bindy Braich used his bench strength knowing the boys were in for four days of gruelling soccer.
In the second match, Guildford defeated a determined Prince George side 2-0. The Guildford team seemed to let up a bit knowing that their big match against Richmond was scheduled for the following day.
Guildford’s defence was extremely strong throughout the tournament anchored by Parvez and Parm their two towering centre backs. Even when the opponents managed to get through, the stingy defence goalkeeper Marc Mincielli could not be beat.
The third match was a “must win” for Richmond. Due to Richmond’s loss to Vancouver the day before, anything short of a win would see them playing for the bronze medal on Sunday. Guildford came out strong and surprised Richmond with their willingness to attack.
Guildford was rewarded with a goal by Ryan Dhillon after only 12 minutes. A good run by Brandon created the scoring chance and Ryan was clinical with his finish. The remainder of the game saw Richmond press for the equalizer. They now had to score two goals to advance to the finals. Guildford was determined to protect their one-goal lead and concentrated on defending for the remainder of the game. Richmond was rewarded for their efforts late in the game with a strange goal from a free kick nearly 40 yards from the goal.
The last 10 minutes of the game were stressful on the Guildford parents and coaching staff but the boys managed to hold on to the 1-1 tie and put a halt to the Richmond’s dreams of bringing home the gold medal. Guildford would face Vancouver in the Provincial finals.
The finals saw half of the 12-man Vancouver team in the physiotherapy tent prior to the game. It is difficult to win the Provincials without depth. Guildford had plenty of depth. The Guildford players looked fresher and very relaxed for the finals. They had an air of confidence, but not arrogance. The Guildford boys knew an early goal would dampen Vancouver’s spirits and without healthy substitutes, the game could be out of reach.
Guildford scored 25 minutes into the game as they were rewarded for their offense pressure. Vancouver tried valiantly to defend but eventually broke down in the 65th minute when Guildford scored their second goal and the game was all but over. Guildford put the finishing touches on a successful tournament by scoring a third goal with five minutes remaining in the game.
Congratulations go to all 17 players on the team. In some way or another they all had something to do with the wins. Special thanks goes out to Bindy Braich for coaching the boys to another Provincial A title, Jody for being the best manager / team mom a team could ever have and for all the parents (99.9%) that took that long trip to Prince George to support their kids in the Provincials, especially the father that flew out Sunday morning just to watch the final game.
A very special thanks to Jeff Clarke of the White Caps who is Guildford’s Technical Director and Guildford executives for believing in the team from start to finish.
Clarke said: “The boys were extremely committed throughout the entire season and they were exceptionally focused on winning the Provincial Championship, which was their biggest team goal as stated at the beginning of the season. As a technical director I am thoroughly pleased that the boys played to their potential and now can legitimately call themselves #1. The coaching job of Bindy Braich and his staff was second to none as they created a professional environment for the boys to play within. They are a very special bunch and they deserve every compliment and accolade that is given to them.”
(Contributed)
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