A pair of teams from the Richmond Girls Soccer Association enjoyed impressive runs at the 25th annual Skagit Firecracker Tournament on the weekend in Burlington, WA.
The U15 Richmond Strikers tuned-up for the upcoming Provincial “A” Cup Championships by overcoming a tough schedule for a perfect five-game run.
The Strikers played five matches over 31 hours — surrendering just one goal which came on a penalty in the championship game.
The defensive group of Saniya Mann, Lexy Shury, Mahara Remtula and Carina Wevers were focused and determined. The Strikers also scored 16 times and had a well-rounded attack with goals by Jaya Punia, Teagan Ng, Lola Hopper, Mahara Remtula, Christina Sofiktis, Janelle Tuazon-Cabido and Natalia Lawson.
The Coastal Cup champions have about two more weeks of preparation before the provincials take place July 4-7 at South Surrey Athletic Park.
Meanwhile, the RGSA U10 Redcaps were equally impressive in their Skagit Firecracker debut, also rolling to five straight wins en route to their division title.
The Redcaps opened the tournament with a dominating 5-0 win and held off strong competition over their next two games. In the final, they were in control from start to finish, with no shots against the entire game and clinched the championship with a solid 2-0 victory.
The Redcaps where impressive defensively the entire tournament, surrendering only two goals, led by a very strong backline of Nika Harrower, Nyree van der Eerden and Natalie Crasto.
They were equally as impressive offensively with 13 goals, getting key tallies when needed from Lexi Howitt, Madi Karamanian, and Kaia Harvey.
