A year ago, Richmond United Metro Boys Soccer Program's top 1998 born players were the only team to miss out on the club's domination at the Coastal "A" Cup Championships. This time they are in the hunt with an exclamation mark.
U15 United is one of five local teams which will be playing for Coastal Cup titles next weekend on home turf. The locals had already secured a berth in this summer's Provincial Cup Championships after capturing the Metro Select League with a 12-2-2 record, however, Jonathan Kallner's side was far from done.
Richmond defeated North Vancouver 2-0 in the quarter-finals then pounded defending champion Port Moody AC Selects 7-1 last weekend to set-up a cup final against the Saanich Fusion on May 5 (1 p.m.) at Richmond High.
United's top 1999s will be looking to repeat as champions after advancing to the U14 final with a 1-0 win in penalty kicks over league winner Burnaby Selects. Shawn Sandhu's squad takes on Coquitlam Metro Ford next Saturday (9: 20 a.m.) at Minoru Park.
Richmond is also looking for back-to-back titles at the U18 level after three straight home field victories, including a 1-0 triumph over North Coquitlam last weekend. What's impressive about this squad is the bulk of Ted Lorenz's roster are U17s that won the Coastal Cup a year ago. United takes on the Burnaby Royals in the final May 5 (2: 30 p.m.) at Minoru.
Joining the U13 All-Stars on the girls side is Richmond Synergy. The U15 squad has reached the final for the second straight year after 2-0 win over the Delta Selects last weekend. Coached by Ron Ng, the girls will face the Central City Breakers Elite next Saturday (9: 10 a.m.) at Minoru, looking to avenge last year's 2-0 loss.
