With a roster filled heavily with Grade 10s, 9s and even 8s, the Burnaby North Vikings are still reliant on others to get to the game.
Only a handful are eligible to apply for a driver’s licence.
But once there, the Vikings senior girls soccer players are showing they can put the pedal to the metal.
With a 2-1-1 record midway through the Burnaby-New West senior girls season, Burnaby North is in the thick of it – “it” being a shot of advancing to a league final.
Tuesday’s solid 3-1 victory over the Moscrop Panthers was more evidence that, while the team has a lot of growing to do, it has the potential to be among the last standing come playoff time.
“Originally, I called this a building season,” Burnaby North coach Deb Peters said. “But I think with the way they’ve come together I think we have a good chance to make the (league) banner final.”
The win over Moscrop was more evidence for that hope. Despite a rash of injuries, that includes missing both striker Marie Marcotte and starting goalkeeper Katherine Pivnenko to concussions, the club kept rolling. Caught in a 1-0 hole early after some nice work by the visiting Panthers, the Vikings counted three goals in the second half to lock up their second decision.
Leading the way was Grade 9 centre-mid Marica Miljanovic, a second-year senior player who scored all three goals, thanks to a lot of diligent work from her teammates. Making an impact was Grade 8 striker Sonya Zong, who came in to fill out the lineup and provided energy and a pesky presence for Moscrop's defenders.
Grade 8 netminder Zayana Samji was a steadying force as the squad shook off the first goal.
“She was a little nervous at the start but she settled down and helped the rest of the team to settle down, too,” noted Peters.
Burnaby North’s previous win came in the first league game, a 5-0 shutout over Burnaby Mountain earlier this month. Coupled with a solid showing at a UBC invitational high school tournament, where they went 2-2 with victories over North Delta and league rival Alpha, Peters said some positive seeds were planted as to what they could achieve.
“I was like, ‘Wow. We have some real potential coming together here.’ It was a pleasant surprise.”
The Vikings had the experience of last year’s provincial championship to supply motivation and experience, but a number of players eligible to return from that lineup were not at tryouts this winter.
It’s often the case that players face pressure, even a ban, from some premier and metro coaches on playing outside their club commitments. For Peters, it seems to be something that robs kids of a special opportunity.
“School soccer is often an after-thought for some, but those that commit are getting a fun experience,” she said. Playing alongside their classmates in a more collegial environment means a lot of the stresses and outside influences are absent. Not all elite division coaches put a halt to high school soccer, but when it comes to the playoff cross-over with the North Shore teams, which will decide who advances to provincials, it seems more coaches on the north side of Burrard Inlet support their players' choice to play with their high school friends.
Either way, there is no easy path for the Burnaby-New West league champion, no matter who emerges, to the promised land.
Burnaby North has been on both sides of the result in recent weeks. After they battled Alpha to a scoreless draw a week ago, the Vikings tasted a stinging setback when New West stopped them 6-1, taking advantage of a depleted roster.
It could be a useful eye-opener for the players, Peters suggested, who despite having 20 players on her roster has to prod some to show up.
“I’m not putting any eggs in on getting to provincials this year, but I think we’ve got a real good group that can be in the (league) mix,” she said. “I like my chances of getting to the league) final.”
Burnaby North’s next game is Thursday, 3:30 at Burnaby Lake West against Alpha.
