The Langley Thunder overcame an early deficit and then hung on late to capture the gold medal.
The U13 tier 1 boys field lacrosse team was competing at the Burnaby Sports Complex over the weekend, ending their season as provincial champions.
“This is huge. Starting out this year, we knew we had a pretty good team and it all worked out pretty well,” said Alex Vanichuk, the Langley head coach.
“We knew we had a shot throughout the year with the way the kids were playing.”
Langley was tops during the Pacific Coast Field Lacrosse Association season, dropping just two games during league play.
Their strong season continued with a 5-0 record at provincials, including a back-and-forth gold-medal game against Nanaimo.
Nanaimo led early before the Thunder took control in the middle part of the game and they lead 7-3 with about six or seven minutes to go. Nanaimo would cut the lead to a single goal, but the Thunder were able to gain control and kills out the clock over the final couple of minutes.
In the team’s other four games at provincials, three of the victories were by multiple goals as they beat Pacific Rim 7-3, Surrey 11-2 and 10-5 over the Adanacs. The team’s other win was by a 7-6 score over Victoria.
The Thunder team is made up of Andrew Cowan, Austin Vanichuk, Bailey Vanichuk, Finn Harapiak, Hudson Zazelenchuk, Jonathan Grywacheski, Jordan Tomica, Keegan Okino, Cole Gillam, Mathew Tipper, Rylan Maher, Scott Larden, Shawn Morse, Tydus Schroeder, Wyatt Dayman and Tanner Berreth. The coaches are Alex Vanichuk, Dylan Lacroix and Nic Jackson.
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Two other Langley boys’ squads were also competing in Burnaby.
The U15 tier 1 Thunder team went 1-4 while the U18 tier 1 team was 0-5.
sports@langleytimes.com
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