North Shore/Burnaby-based Mountain United Football Club scored their first ever Canadian Soccer Association National Club Championships medal last week and it came from a surprising source.
The club’s U17 boys won bronze at a national tournament they weren’t even supposed to be at: the U-18 Cup held Thanksgiving long weekend in Surrey. The team, comprised completely of underage players in the U18 division, was given a late invite to the tournament after the club champions from Newfoundland and Labrador dropped out. The boys didn’t disappoint either, blasting their way into the medal round and securing bronze with a penalty shootout win over Alberta after a 0-0 tie in the third-place match. Mountain United’s only loss in five tournament games came against the silver medal winners from Ontario. Surrey United won gold on home soil.
North Vancouver’s Dzenan Bezdrob scored five goals in the tournament, earning a share of the Golden Boot award with teammate Olamide Ajibike and Surrey United's Kyle Sohi. Other North Shore players on the team included captains Travis Ladhar and Evan Libke, Brendan Shaw, Jamie Barraclough, Julian Gailiunas, Nick Bailey, Adam Swanson and goalkeeper Michael Girard. Head coach Wayne Shaw and team manager Manpreet Ladhar are also North Shore links.
The club’s U16 girls also made the national championships, traveling to Mount Pearl, N.L. for the tournament. The team lost in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals against the eventual champions from Ontario and ended up in seventh place, finishing the tournament with a 9-0 thrashing of Saskatchewan. Mountain United’s Camila Gomez-Hernandez earned the Golden Boot award.
