The Richmond Synergy and All-Stars continued their dominant seasons by proving they are the toast of the coast.
The respective U15 and U13 girls soccer teams captured Coastal "A" Cup championships last weekend with convincing victories on home turf. Synergy produced a 4-0 victory over Surrey's Central City Breakers Elite, while the All-Stars rolled to a 3-0 win against Nanaimo's Harbour City F.C. Both will be favoured at the Provincial Cup Championships, slated for early July in Langley.
The Synergy went 15-1-2 in the regular season, then outscored their opponents 80 en route to three victories in cup play. Yet, head coach Ron Ng says it was hardly a cake walk for his squad and more about a lesson learned a year earlier.
Richmond dropped a 2-0 decision to the Breakers in the 2012 Coastal final and proceeded to finish fourth at the provincials - a result that provided motivation over the next 10 months.
"Last year's experience was a real eye opener for the girls," said Ng. "They saw what it was all about and developed an appetite for it.
We had to work hard and be on top of our game every week. Nothing really came easy."
Despite a lopsided score in the final, the hosts didn't take full control until the second half. They opened the scoring in early going on a free kick and managed to gain some breathing room with an all-important second goal in the final half. That forced the Breakers to push forward and Richmond took advantage by adding a pair of insurance goals.
The Synergy roster features multi-talented athletes who also thrive in other sports, including basketball, volleyball, field hockey and softball. Ng says the players will get some time off to focus on other activities before the team amps up training again in June with a tournament in Seattle providing further preparation for provincials.
"This is a physically mature group of girls," added Ng. "We believe it's good for them to be involved in other sports. It makes them a better athlete and a better person. At the same time, they understand the commitment to play soccer at this level and are always focused and ready to work hard.
"It's a real fit group and I used all 17 of them (in the final)."
Meanwhile, the All-Stars' triumph adds to Clive Clarke's remarkable coaching record.
He has now guided three teams to Coastal Cup titles and his U13 squad will be favoured to make it three Provincial Cup titles too.
Clarke's first run was with his son Caleb's Richmond Madrid squad. He now plays professionally for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
He then enjoyed an outstanding run with the Richmond Red Hot Selects that completed their youth run with back-to-back provincial titles. That squad featured his daughter Summer - a member of the national team program who is headed to Louisiana State University on a full-ride scholarship this fall.
Now, Clarke has wasted little time tasting more success at the U13 level with a team that has dominated since September. His daughter Ebony is a major force at attacking centre midfield and was named the Metro League's most valuable player.
Richmond jumped out to an early 2-0 lead over their Island opponent in the final and was in full control the rest of the way.
"Sometimes I sit back and realize it's a blessing to be able to do what I have done," said Clarke of his success. "We have some girls who have improved so much since the start of the season and I get more satisfaction from that than anything else."
