Coastal WFC are celebrating their first-ever USL Super Y-League North American championship titles after their U-16 Girls and U-16 Boys teams claimed victory on Tuesday.
Three Vancouver Whitecaps FC and BC Soccer 'Professional Development Partner' teams were in the hunt for Super Y titles, with Mountain WFC U-15 Boys also reaching the final day of action in Tampa, Florida. All three final matches went to penalty shootouts, with both Coastal teams emerging victorious, while Mountain just missed out on the club's second Super Y championship after losing their penalty shootout.
Tuesday's wins mean this year's U-16 teams from Coastal join a Super Y North American championship honour roll that includes the 2004 Whitecaps U-13 Boys and the 2008 Mountain U-16 Boys teams.
"On behalf of Vancouver Whitecaps FC, we want to congratulate all 17 teams on advancing to this year’s Super Y North American Finals," said Whitecaps director of youth development Dan Lenarduzzi. "I give particular congratulations to the Coastal U-16 Girls and Boys teams on winning the Super Y North American championship, and pay tribute to the Mountain U-15 Boys on reaching the final, despite just missing out on penalty kicks."
"One of the goals of the partnership with the Whitecaps was to expand the high performance player pool by partnering regionally on the Super Y-League," said BC Soccer executive director Bjorn Osieck. "Over the past two years, British Columbia has sent 30 teams to the Super Y Finals, with three teams bringing home North American championships in that time."
Visit our Super Y-League Finals page by clicking here for the latest news and results
Coastal WFC U-16 Girls 1-1 Quickstrike FC (Coastal win 5-4 on penalties)
Coastal overcame New York State's Quickstrike FC 5-4 on penalties after coming from a goal down to earn a 1-1 extra-time draw. Quickstrike took the lead before Chiara Quadri equalized with a well-struck 30-yard free kick just before halftime.
With neither side able to find the back of the net again, the match went to penalties. After Isla Moncrieffe scored Coastal's fifth spot kick, goalkeeper Katrina Persson-Thomas secured the title by saving Quickstrike's next penalty for the shootout win.
"Though we dealt with issues of having a short bench and injuries, we came through as real underdogs during the course of the week here in Florida," Coastal U-16 Girls head coach Ciaran McMahon told whitecapsfc.com. "As the team's confidence grew, they performed really well right through to the end."
Also serving as Coastal's general manager, McMahon was delighted to see the club have a successful run in Florida. "It was unbelievable to qualify five teams for the Finals, then have two of those teams go through and win the championship," he said. "It's a remarkable testament to the coaches and the players that helped put the program together."
Coastal WFC U-16 Girls - starting line-up vs Quickstrike FC
Katrina Persson-Thomas; Chiara Quadri, Alex Narduzzi, Isla Moncrieffe, Jordan Palesch; Jenna Bains, Jessica Misak, Brianna Thielmann; Nikki Burge, Amanda Giacomazza, Nicole Wade
Coastal WFC U-16 Boys 0-0 Alpharetta United (Coastal win 4-3 on penalties)
Led by former Whitecaps men's team striker Jason Jordan, Coastal overcame Georgia-based Alpharetta United 4-3 on penalties after a highly-competitive 0-0 extra-time draw. Jordan's starting XI included Whitecaps Residency striker
Caleb Clarke
and Whitecaps Prospects youngster Ethan Samuel.
In normal time, Coastal striker Taj Sangara had a chance to win the match, but the Alpharetta goalkeeper did well to save the striker's penalty.
It meant that the U-16 Boys final would be decided in a shootout, with Coastal centre back Daniel Gazzola striking home the winning spot kick for the club's second Super Y championship of the day.
"This season, these players only tied one game and that was against Thompson-Okanagan," said Jordan. "They're a great group of kids, who all have the ability to win games and score goals. They all like each other and they all work for each other on the pitch."
Coastal WFC U-16 Boys - starting line-up vs Alpharetta United
Luke O'Shea; Ethan Samuel, Pavi Dhillon, Daniel Gazzola, Spencer Goodman; Jeff Ng, Alex Orasa, Declan Rodriguez, Rajan Kooner; Caleb Clarke, Taj Sangara
Mountain WFC U-15 Boys 1-1 RSL Florida (RSL Florida win 5-4 on penalties)
Looking to emulate their club's U-16 Boys' championship run of 2008, Mountain U-15 Boys had to settle for a runners-up finish after falling 5-4 on penalties to RSL (Real Salt Lake) Florida following a 1-1 extra-time draw.
Both goals came in the first half, with RSL taking the lead before Mountain's Mike Jasinski levelled matters before halftime.
Though much of the contest was evenly balanced, Mountain created the better chances to win the game. Lucas Reis just missed the top corner of RSL's goal in the first half, while Miguel Bustamante had a header cleared off the goalline in extra time.
Though they fell to defeat in a shootout, Mountain head coach Andrea Agnoloni was proud of his team's efforts. "This team is strong and well balanced in every position," he said. "Going into the Finals in Florida, we were confident we would get to the final, which we did. I was impressed by how the players prepared themselves and by their determination to make today's final game."
Mountain technical director Hubert Busby jr., meanwhile, was full of praise for the efforts of all the partner clubs in Florida. "Credit to the Mountain organization in helping the players and coaches prepare for Florida," said Busby. "It's always great to see one of our teams and other BC teams like Coastal advance to the final stages. It's a measurement of the progression being seen by our club and the other partner clubs in the province. In particular, I give credit to my colleague Mark Rogers and his staff at Coastal. They've done a great job in winning two titles today. We're always competitive with each other on the pitch, but we're also very supportive of their program and all of our partner clubs' programs. Many congratulations to them."
Mountain WFC U-15 Boys - starting line-up vs RSL Florida
Jordan Campbell; Kar Bhandal, Jason van Blerk, Jordan Lashar, Sam Coulter; Tanner Wright, Anthony Bordignon, Miguel Bustamante, Jayson Santiago; Gilbert Kyne, Jordan MacDonell
