Se EA Riles te ead ite Pie ML ST ta |

Miudge’s Metros
off to Ottawa

IT {S just over five vears
ago that a band of 13-
year-old soccer plityers met
coach John Mudge for the
first tirite.

Some 180 games later the North
Shore Metros are three Canadian
tournament games away From the
national under-18 title, which will
be contested Oct. 5-8 in) Ottawa,
having already collected a string
of accomplishments that makes
them the most successful) North
Shore girls soccer team ever.

Mudge, the choice of a selection
committee headed by Lea Corben
who then became team manager,
turned out to be the perfect pick
to take over a team that had al-
ready been selected our of two
North Shore teams that played the
previous season in the under-13
division of the newly-created
Lower Mainland Metro League
for select tears.

Although the Metros finished
fourth in the league in their first
season, they won three provincial
cup games before losing 1-0 to
Richmond who eventually won the
Canadian under-I4 championship.

The following year, the Metros
rose to second in the league and
second in B.C. playoffs.

Then came 1988 when the team,
second in the league again, cap-
tured both the B.C. and Canadian
championships, culminating the
season with a 1-0 triumph over
Quebee in the national under-6
final.

The Metro

League. with this

N. Shore girls’
soccer team
three games
from title

age group progressing through the
years, has proven to be the most
competitive in Canada. In five
years no team won the league
more than once.

And until the Metros won the
league (16 wins, I loss and 1! tie)
and playoffs in the 1989-90 season
at the under-!8 level, the feague
champion always lost out to
another team from the league for
the provincial trophy.

The Metros, whose overall re-
cord since August 1989 is 35-10-2,
including a sweet 3-1 win over
F.C. Royats of Puyallup,
Washington (the state champions
and a team they had Jost to twice)
in the final of the prestigious
Shorelake tournament in Seattle
Jast September, will play St.
dames of Winniper and Southwest
United of Edmonton in the open-
ing rounds of the Canadian
championships.

Toronto's Scarborough United,
the Nova Seotia Olympics and
Mistral Estrie from: Quebee are on
the other side of the draw.

Seven players and assistant

coach Gus Spilborghs, who was

unofficially in that) capacity for
the first season, have been with
the Metros all five years: Kris
Brown, Tiffany Chester, Christine
Corben, Lisa Easiman, Nancy
Ferguson, Sophie Spilbarghs and
Julie Westerman.

Jenn Gardiner and Liz Palmer
joined the second year and
Katherine Donovan and Michelle
Leber came on board during the
1988 championship season.

Amy Abercrombie. Christine
Cameron, Courtenay Matheson,
Chartotte Murray, Sinead Murray,
Debby Rempel and Kristine
Vaughan have been added more
recently, Assistant manager is
Christine Westerman.

No less than 11 of the current
18 players have played for the
B.C. Selects team in the provincial
all-star program at the under-16
and/or under-18 level over the
past three years.

When the Canadian tournament
is over, all but three will no longer
be eligible for youth soccer.

Ferguson and Spilborghs are
playing for UBC's highly-touted
team. Abercrombie, Corben and
Matheson play for Capilano Col-
lege which hus hopes of a B.C.
Colleges championship. Most
others are playing for — senior
women's teams.

Two who are not continuing
with) soccer are Chester and
Eastman who have made UBC's
basketball and field hockey teams
respectively.

Next week's Canadians will be
the cn of an era.

NEWS photo Neil Lucente

COACH JOHN Mudge directs
North Shore Metros players
during a soccer practice on
Sunday. In October, Mudge
and the under-18 team will be
travelling to Ottawa to compete
for the national championship.

Wednesday. September 26. 1990 - North Shore News - 13

Blues
off to
good start

THE CAPILANO College
soccer teams began league
play this Sunday with 14
unanswered goals.

By Guido Marziali
Contributing Writer

On the women’s side. the
whitewash started in’ the sixth
minute when Amy Abercrombie
combined with Sandy Burleigh on
a ygive-and-zo at the top of the
penalty box, and lifted the ball in-
to the right corner of the Fraser
Valley net.

Abercrombie scored three more.
two on sei plays and one on a
break from a through pass by
Christy Keylanad, The hat-trick
eluded teammate Kim Jones, who
scored twice and hit (60 posts.

Five other players added. single
tallies to complete the [1-0 rout.
Sandys Burleigh assisted on three
goals and created several chances
from set plays.

Coached by Frank Pupp, the
Women Blues play an clegant
game of short passes, one-touch
soccer, and pressure through
numbers. On Sunday, midfielders
Burleigh and Fiona Dercole push-
ed up to support the forward line,

See Men's Page 14

‘Skate of the Art.

. Junior Sizes 1-6
B Senior Sizes 5-12

Tacks “B51”

SALE
149”

249”

eg.
229°°

329°°

WE ARE YOUR COMPLETE
HOCKEY HEADQUARTERS!!

yy

SPORTS I}

Lynn VaLley Centre

1199 LYNN VALLEY, RD., N.VAN. V7J 3H2

980-9214

980-0116