Richmond U14 Roadrunners capped an outstanding season with a silver medal finish at the BCLA Youth Field Lacrosse Tier II Provincial Championships in Burnaby.
The Roadrunners earned their spot in the B.C. showcase event by finishing first in the 11-team Lower Mainland league with a sparkling 14-2 record.
The U14 division teams consist of boys 13-and-14 years of age, but due to low enrollment in the U12 division this year in Richmond, the team also took on some underage players.
In addition to some younger players, the Roadrunners also had a range of abilities; some players with many years of experience, and some that had not played the sport at all before this season. The success of the U14 team was dependent on the ability of the experienced players helping the newer players feel comfortable on the field and resulted in an excellent result at the end of regular season play.
The provincial weekend was challenge for all participants involved with the top teams from all regions of the province in attendance and the weather being stormy and unpredictable.
The championships got off to a tough start for the Roadrunners in an unexpected 13-9 defeat to Valley. Richmond also lost a player to a broken collarbone.
Knowing that they needed to win their next two games to have a chance at moving onto the semi-finals, the locals rebounded with convincing wins over Prince George (23-0) and Mid Island (17-6). This put them in a three-way tie for first place in their pool. The tiebreaker formula gave Richmond first place and a semi-final date with North Shore.
In regular season play, Richmond and North Shore were the top two teams, so it was bound to be a great match. Richmond was able to overcome a strong opponent for a 10-7 win and clinch a berth in the gold medal game.
The final against Burnaby was a hard fought game with lots of back and forth play. The Roadrunners gave it all they had in a 10-6 loss.
Game MVPs included Tyler Moxin, Liam MacIntosh, Ryan Jensen and Kieran McKay who also was presented with the Warrior Fair Play award. Moxin was named the U14 Warrior MVP of the tournament.
Despite being his first year as goalie, Brock Jung had strong games throughout the regular season as well as the provincials. In front of him were defenders Alex Banno, Anton Bobyrev, Cameron Overby, Justin Preston and Luke Avon. The midfield was made up of strong runners Brett Clark, Jacob Lorenz, Jordan Roberts, McKay, Kyle Ahfield, Liam MacIntosh, Jensen, Taylor Dudlets and Moxin. Up front on attack were Dawson Yates, Hunter VanHest, Jonas Kwong, Nathan Domanski and Tyson Brown.
The team is coached by Colin McKay, Jason Dudlets and Rod Jensen.
