A Coquitlam midfielder is hoping to kick his University of the Fraser Valley Cascades men’s soccer team to its first U Sports national championship.
Zanatta, a junior out of Archbishop Carney Secondary, has three goals and five assists to lead the Cascades in scoring heading into Saturday’s Canada West semi-final in Calgary against the University of Victoria. A win would advance UFV to the conference championship match as well as qualify the team for the U Sports national championship tournament at Carleton University in Ottawa, Nov. 18 - 21.
Victoria is ranked ninth in the country, while the Cascades are unranked.
UFV earned its way to the semifinal with a 2-1 comeback victory over the University of Alberta Golden Bears in a Canada West quarter-final match last Friday in Edmonton that the Cascades sealed with a stunning save by goalkeeper Jackson Cowx on a penalty kick in the dying moments.
Zanatta’s total of 11 points includes a conference-record four assists in a single match, a 5-1 win over the University of British Columbia in Abbotsford last Oct. 3. Last Friday, he was named to the Canada West first all-star team.
• Several Tri-City grads will be competing in the Canada West women's soccer semifinals that begin Friday at Trinity Western University.
Centennial Secondary grad Sophia Ferreira leads her University of British Columbia Thunderbirds against Alberta's MacEwan University Griffins. Ferreira finished her freshman year with seven points and she was named to the Can West all rookie team as well as the first all-star team.
Charles Best grad Kathryn Harvey heads a contingent of four players from the Tri-Cities on the roster of the top-ranked Trinity Western University Spartans, which will be playing against Saskatchewan in Friday's first semifinal.
Harvey finished her senior season with four goals and four assists, and she was named to the Canada West second all-star team, reprising the honour she also received in 2019.
Other Tri-City players on the pitch for the Spartans include:
- Centennial grad Jessica Vance, a freshman
- Archbishop Carney grad Sarah Bazille, who scored three goals in five games in her freshman season
- Riverside grad Jane MacKinnon, another freshman
