Hey, it must be September.Everyone is gearing up for a new football (soccer) season. More than 1,200 Coast kids are included. The local rep teams kicked off the season with strong results at a number of tournaments last weekend in the Lower Mainland.The U17 Chaos went to Surrey/Newton and won four games to take top spot. Three games in the round robin and the final showed scoring power and some good defence.Surdel Royals went down the Chaos in the round robin 2-0 with Jasmine DiPietro scoring two second-half goals. The Royals play very hard physical ball, but Chaos fought through that.The final was against the Royals and this time Chaos got one in the first half and two in the second to take the 3-0 win.Looks like the U17 girls silver league will have their hands full with Chaos again this year.U12 girlsBrian McAllister has the new entry to the rep field with a group of young women playing in the U12 division.They had a record of one win, one draw and two losses in their first tournament. That win was the first ever win in their inaugural tournament. The girls have not given themselves a team name as yet. Maybe we should have a contest. Anyone have any good names for a bunch of energetic, soccer loving lasses with big smiles?U14 girlsThe U14 Stingrays played in a Metro/Gold Division Tournament against some talented opponents.Poco Extreme were first up and they had the lead within six minutes. Selina Byer got one for the Stingrays, but the strong Extreme finished with a 4-1 result.The Passion was next up and they could not match the passion of the Stingrays. Stingrays dominated the first half and should have been up by three at the half, but it ended 0-0. Hard work paid off for our team when Diamond Smith smashed a left-footer over the goalie from the 18-yard line. Sydney McAllister broke away and hit the net then Selina topped off the win with number three.On Sunday morning Maya Schutz was wide awake and it was a good job she was. Stingrays dominated the gold division Adrenaline but could not score, while it was a great effort by Maya in goal that kept the game at 0-0 at the half.Sydney and Selina teamed up for the opening goal with Sydney taking the shot and Selina nailing the rebound. Adrenaline came on for a 15-minute period and were rewarded with a goal but robbed of a second by Maya, with a smart save.The goal scorers did their thing and Maya locked the door to earn a 1-1 draw.Goal difference placed Stingrays in a battle for third place against the Milan. A 1-0 loss meant fourth place but a salutation from an opposing coach ("once again Stingrays are the hardest working team in the league") put the sting back in the name.U15 boysThe U15 Celtic played good possession football and came away with a 2-2 record in a warm-up tournament.Coach Owen Parry liked the way the boys played as they showed much improvement over a strong 2005/06 season.U13 boysThe U13 Adrenaline also went 2-2 as they played against Metro and Gold teams. Zach Karmel scored two and Parker Hohn was outstanding in goal in a 2-1 win over Chilliwack. Metro Ford Spartans scored one in the last minute of the first half and one in the last minute of the second to take a 2-0 decision. Abbotsford went down 2-1 as Jonah Lussier and Brendan Barnum notched the goals, while Whitehorse was totally out-played, but managed to offset Stashan Coady's goal and score another against the play for a 2-1 win.A tournament that showed good defence for Adrenaline, but still the need to put the ball in the basket.
