Perfection has put Burnaby Central Wildcats at the top of the heap – prognostics wise.
The senior AAA boys soccer team, recently ranked No. 1 by the Province newspaper, capped its local season Wednesday with a 1-0 win over the Alpha Aztecs to advance to the playdowns against West Vancouver as the Burnaby-New West top seed.
Brady Hughes’ goal midway through the second half proved to be the difference, and gave the undefeated Wildcats two chances to earn a B.C. berth.
“It was a very tough opponent because we’ve played (Alpha) before but we knew we could take them. It was a well-played match between us but they came out flying,” said Hughes, a Grade 11 striker.
Neither team mustered much of an attack in the first half, as both clubs came out more aggressive in the second side. The feeling was that one goal may be all a team needed.
“For the first 20, 25 minutes (Alpha) had more chances and more possession and I didn’t think we really woke up until the half,” noted Burnaby Central assistant coach Anto Steko. “Coach (Ibrahim) Adamu talked with the boys and we made some adjustments, responded and settled down to our game.”
The Wildcats came close in the 50-minute mark on a goal that was called back due to offside. But they kept at it, and got a perfect opportunity when midfielder Nathan Graziano laced a perfect feed up from midfield to Hughes at the 20-yard line, who turned past the defender and stared down Aztec netminder Oliver Morrison-Harding, depositing the ball after a quick deke.
“(Graziano) slipped the ball to me and I turned, there was nobody around me so I could be patient and go around the keeper rather than just shooting,” recalled Hughes. “It worked perfect, but (Morrison-Harding) tipped it a little so I was a little nervous.”
As play evolved, the Wildcats went into defensive mode and Alpha pushed forward. The defence and Central netminder Savo Bogicevic responded to each challenge.
“In that instant the game changes on a lucky chance, for us unlucky,” said Alpha coach Antoni Salov. “It was a good through ball and there was some miscommunication, but we still had a chance to get it back.”
Salov pointed to strong efforts from Marcello Caporale and Grade 9 midfielders Ben Beaulieu and Marco Consiglio.
For Burnaby Central, midfielders Boubecor Diarai and Stefan Cuk were impressive, said Steko.
Hughes, who missed the semifinal 2-1 shootout win over Cariboo Hill, leads the district with nine goals on the year.
In that encounter, the two teams entered the second half in a scoreless game before Graziano gave Central the lead. Cariboo tied it up on a brilliant individual effort by Rahid Rahiem. The Wildcats pushed back and had a handful of good scoring chances but Chargers’ netminder Earl Domalanta was sharp. In the shootout, Central counted two more goals.
The next step will be the best gauge yet to their No. 1 status, said Steko.
“We have to change our formations a bit as we were using some players out of position (in the league final),” he noted. “We expect a very strong challenge and we don’t expect anything to come easy.”
The Wildcats now face West Vancouver on Tuesday at Ambleside, while Alpha plays Sutherland at Burnaby North. Cariboo Hill, meanwhile, will host a North Shore team in a battle for a AA provincial berth, while Burnaby North ventures to the North Shore.
