The Sardis Falcons placed ninth overall at AAA soccer provincials, which were held Thursday through Saturday in Burnaby.
Sardis went 1-2 in group play, opening with a 4-0 loss to the defending champions from Reynolds secondary school (Victoria).
They bounced back to swat Richmond’s R.A. McMath Wildcats by a 5-1 count.
“We started the game as we finished off the previous game (against Reynolds) where the boys were more relaxed and moved the ball with confidence,” said coach Shaun Calver. “R.A. McMath barely touched the ball and we created several chances. We could have scored a few more goals.”
The Falcons finished group play with a 2-0 loss to Surrey’s Fleetwood Park Dragons.
“We battled well but did not create a lot of opportunities,” Calver said. “They created a few more chances than we did, but the difference maker is that they finished their chances.”
The Falcons finished the tournament on the consolation side, posting a 4-0 win over Sentinel and a 2-1 victory over Burnaby Central.
“Burnaby could have easily been in the top four in the province, but were unlucky with a couple of their results in group play,” Calver said. “We started the game slowly and Burnaby took it to us. They were up 1-0 within 10 minutes. But with about 15 minutes left in the first half the boys started to play their style of game, with quick ball movement, and were able to find gaps all over the field. We dominated the second half.”
Lachlan Gilchrist-Blackwood, Nathan Burns and Nathan Olson had two goals apiece in the tournament with Spencer Thiessen, Suki Uppal, Owen Wright, Adrien Biela and Jess Portier adding singles.
Dr. Charles Best secondary school (Coquitlam) won the provincial title, downing Panorama Ridge (Surrey) 2-1 in the final. Reynolds topped LA Matheson (Surrey) 2-0 in the bronze medal match.