Skyler Causey (Lagace) from the Sunshine Coast has earned his spot, tending goal for West Vancouver in the Men's Premier Soccer League.
After a successful stint at Capilano University, the graduate of Elphinstone Secondary School recently played his first game in men's premier.
Being the baby (at age 20) on the field playing against long-time experienced players in a fast-paced game, he prepared himself the best way he could.
The team they were playing against was the Surrey Fire Fighters who won in the finals against West Vancouver in the spring, so the rivalry continued during the first game of the season with Skyler stopping the shots on the West Van net.
The game was fast and fierce, with lots of fouls that challenged Skyler with all the set plays. However, West Van jumped on the opportunity to take a free kick quickly, which caught the Surrey defence flat-footed to take the lead 1-0 just before the half. This fired up the Surrey team even more and during the last 25 minutes of the game, they were pressing hard, forcing Skyler to pull out all the stops.He won every ball he came out for, had a few diving saves, and, needless to say, he had one of his best games coming out with a clean sheet and preserving the 1-0 shutout win.
Skyler played in the Sunshine Coast Youth Soccer Association (SCYSA) from U12 to U15, then moved to the North Shore Premier program from U16 to 18. He played with Mountain WFC at U16 for two years and helped lead the squad to a victory at an international tournament in Florida.
He then went onto Capilano University where he red-shirted his first year, played his second year as the back-up keeper, and halfway through the season, he earned the number one goalie spot.
In 2011 and 2012 he played with the U21 Reserves team going to the finals last year and semifinals this year along with fellow Coast players Justice and Stashen Coady.
He has had the opportunity to coach alongside the men who coached him when he was younger and plans to come to the Coast several times a month on Sundays to do keeper training for the SCYSA. Those dates are still to be determined. He plans to continue his coaching and hopes that he can develop some up-and-coming keepers on the Sunshine Coast.
- Submitted
