In just over a month’s time, the Wesburn Galaxy face their biggest test of the soccer season.
But from the road already travelled, the next step should feel very familiar for the under-14 boys squad.
After vaulting to the top of the pile over a long grind of a soccer season – culminating with a 2-0 win over cross-town rival South Burnaby in the Coastal Cup B final – the group enters the final stage eager to impress.
“It has been an exceptional year for our team from the beginning,” remarked head coach Aaron Johnson. “This group of boys gets along amazingly well together on and off the field and has done so since the team’s inception last spring. We have dominated in league play at the gold level and through the various cup competitions we have entered.”
In fact, the lone blemish to their record came in the regular season to South Burnaby, and provided ammunition when it came to their showdown earlier this month.
Thats when Wesburn delivered a clinical performance, taking a 1-0 lead on striker Haris Hussaini’s tally just 10 minutes into the contest. It remained a one-goal game until Bojan Kos sealed the victory late.
“Playing against (South Burnaby) is a derby match for us since we’re both Burnaby teams, we play them several times over the year, and the games are always close,” said Johnson. “Many of the players know each other from school and have grown up playing with and against each other. The games are always emotional.”
Galaxy netminder Kevin Oliver came up huge with a couple of big stops to clinch the win.
Getting to the Coastal Cup final saw Wesburn traverse some big hills, with the first two games decided by a single goal. They began the round of 16 with a 1-0 victory over Abbotsford, then slip past North Delta 2-1 to advance to the semifinals. The Galaxy counted twice in a 2-0 decision over Campbell River, foreshadowing the final.
The toughest test was in the first match, said Johnson.
“I think learning to be patient and to believe in each other and our system of play has been the greatest accomplishment of this team,” he said. “The Abbotsford game was a prime example of that. Both teams had quality chances and the game could have gone either way.”
Hussaini’s marker late in the second half proved to be the difference.
Against North Delta, the Galaxy struggled to put their best boot forward and found themselves trailing early. But bounce back they did, and took the game on Lazar Kragulj’s chip-shot late in the match.
In Campbell River, Ryan Nagy and Sebastyan Szymanski supplied the offence, with assists from Alex Lopez and Hussaini.
Through it all, the players persisted and grew together as a team.
Kragulj often sets the tone, a midfielder who leads by example. Also supplying valuable leadership are Jeffrey Baldisimo, Koen Johnson, David MacDonald, Jacob Spartano, Justin Tran, Hussaini, Oliver, Nagy and Szymanski.
The shutout was the club’s 20th out of 25 games, with 85 goals for. They bonded both on and off the pitch and showed tremendous maturity, including sponsoring three families for the Burnaby Christmas Bureau.
With five players moving into the metro level next season, the provincials present a last hurrah for the squad as currently composed. Johnson feels they are ready for any challenge that comes their way.
“The provincials will be something new for these boys and I think the focus will be on doing what we’ve done in the past that has brought us success,” the coach said. “We are strong at every position on the field … I’m confident that if we play our game and have fun we will have a good chance of success.”
The provincials are slated for the first week in July in Vernon.
The Galaxy roster is: Jeffrey Baldisimo, Evan Beckers, Jasman Hehar, Haris Hussaini, Koen Johnson, Bojan Kos, Lazar Kragulj, Alex Lopez, David MacDonald, Ryan Nagy, Kevin Oliver, Jordan Scott, Jacob Spartano, Sebastyan Szymanski, Justin Tran and Anthony Vargas.
