This past weekend the Fraser Valley Boys District Championships were hosted in Aldergrove with the host club, Aldergrove Youth Soccer Club, winning two of the six finals.
The games were played on the new Aldergrove artificial turf fields and the U-13 and U-17 Aldergrove teams took the gold medals.
This is quite an accomplishment considering Aldergrove is smallest club in the Fraser Valley.
Bill Ede, president of Aldergrove Youth Soccer, said, “This goes to show our club can compete with the best of them. The programs that we have in Aldergrove, combined with the new turf fields, gives us the opportunity to develop our local players to compete at a top level. Winning two of the six district championships is proof of that”.
Both of the games were thrillers, right down to the last minute. In the U-13 final, despite a fairly even match, Aldergrove found themselves down 2-0 with less than 10 minutes to play.
A late rally with three unanswered goals in the last eight minutes gave Aldergrove the victory.
In the U-17 final Aldergrove had to score a late equalizer to tie the game at 1-1. Overtime produced no winner so the game had to be decided by penalty kicks.
Aldergrove sealed the victory in the eighth round, when Aldergrove scored after Langley had missed.
Both teams now advance to the Coastal Cup playoffs leading to the Provincial Championships to be held in Langley later this summer.
In addition to providing the facilities to play on, the host club is responsible for providing officials for each game.
Art Bandenieks, Head Referee with AYSC, said that, “This year we had a very strong pool of excellent match officials to use for these very competitive games. All the referees were from Aldergrove and all performed professionally to the highest standards to ensure safe and fair play.”
Referees and Assistant Referees range from 12 years old to well into their fifties, male and female, and all are expected to keep up with play while performing their duties in this fast paced game.
HARRY HUNT PHOTO BELOW
Aldergrove’s U-17 Vipers’ Gurjot Grewal battles with Langley United player in the 2-1 victory over Langley United at Aldergrove Athletic Park, Saturday, Feb. 23.
