The Sunshine Coast Rapids completed their most successful season to date with a well-earned bronze medal at the provincial peewee lacrosse championships last weekend in Chilliwack.
The Rapids edged Williams Lake Big Horns 11-8 on Sunday in the bronze medal contest. Game MVP was Carlos Ibanez, who was also named MVP for the entire tournament.
Also picking up tournament honours were Alex Ratcliffe, who won the fair play award, and Tyler Graham, who was selected to the tournament all-star team.
A total of 30 teams from across the province started play at the event last Friday in A1, A2, B and C levels for athletes 11 and 12 years of age.
The Rapids competed in the C-division, which was won by Langley, that defeated West Kootenay 11-5 in the gold medal game.
The Rapids started play Friday with a 12-4 win over the Terrace Raiders. Game MVP for the Rapids was Tevis Watts. Up next was Langley, and the Rapids were on the short end of a 12-2 score against the Thunder.
The final game score was a little deceiving as the Rapids had 10 runners plus a goalie on the floor, while Langley had 18 players available plus a goalie.
"The Langley coaches told us after the game that they were pretty impressed with how well our guys played and that we stayed in the game," said Rapids head coach Anthony Taylor. "In fact, they said their players were starting to tire out. We were the youngest team there and the competition was the best we've seen all year. To hang with all these teams is a great testament to our program."
On Saturday, the Rapids tripped up the Cowichan Valley Thunder 12-9 to end the round robin with a 2-1 record, good for second place in their pool behind Langley. In the final round robin game, Nolan O'Reilly was named game MVP.
The top four teams, two from each pool, advanced to the playoffs. Langley met Williams Lake in one semifinal while Sunshine Coast faced off with the West Kootenay Warriors in the other.
The playoff game went back and forth, with Williams Lake eventually posting a 9-4 win. Alex was named game MVP.
"All the coaches and parents are very happy with how the team played," said Taylor. "Our team played hard throughout the tournament and played with a lot of heart. To end up with a bronze medal is a huge accomplishment for our association and bodes well for the start of next season. To see Carlos win MVP of the whole tournament I think speaks volumes of our team and the association. The kids were all very happy."
