The regular season may not start for a couple more weeks but Centennial secondary girls' soccer coach Larry Moro already likes what he sees from his squad.
His Coquitlam team took the top spot in a 16-team Guildford Park tournament last week, a meet largely considered as exhibition play and a chance for coaches to finalize their rosters.
While Moro was pleased with the victory, it was how his team was executing on the field that he said was most encouraging.
"We were impressed with how good our passing game was this early in the season," he said. "We are a young team... and this was a good chance for them to get to know each other."
It was also an opportunity for some of Centennial's Fraser Valley rivals to get to know a Grade 10 player named Tia Edgar. She notched a hat trick in the final game of the tournament, helping her squad defeat Lord Tweedsmuir 3-1.
All three of the goals were clinical finishes, Moro said, with two coming on breakaways and a third on a volley from the top of the 18-yard box.
"It is very encouraging to see," he added.
Centennial got off to a strong start in round-robin play with a 3-2 win over Seaquam secondary. The squad went on to blank Osoyoos secondary 3-0 and the North Surrey 4-0 to win their tournament pool. Sarah Furny netted three against the Surrey squad while Kayla Mobilio scored three in the tournament.
But Centennial ran into some trouble in the first game of the playoff portion of the weekend. The squad was down 1-0 against Burnsview in the first game but were able to dig-in defensively and net two goals to win the semifinal match.
Olivia Aguiar was named the team MVP for the tournament.
The regular season is expected to get underway on April 6 and all Tri-City high schools except Pinetree secondary will be fielding teams this year.
The season kicks off with matches between Riverside and Charles Best secondaries, Port Moody and Centennial, Heritage Woods and Terry Fox, while Gleneagle gets a bye.
Charles Best secondary also played in last week's tournament. Despite their fifth-place showing Moro said they are likely the team to beat in the Fraser Valley North division.
"They were using this tournament as their final tryout," he said. "They are going to be a strong team in our league."
Centennial and Best will meet on April 20.
For more information about the Fraser Valley North girls soccer league go to www.fraservalleysoccer.webs.com/aaaseniorgirls.htm.
