The Richmond Strikers have booked their ticket to this summer’s Provincial “A” Cup Championships for the third consecutive year.
The U16 girls soccer team will be headed back to South Surrey Athletic Park in early July after capturing the B.C. Coastal Metro League regular season title with a 5-1 victory over CCB Surrey Selects at Hugh Boyd Park.
The race for first came right down to the final weekend with Richmond (16-1-1) edging out West Vancouver Rangers (15-2-1) for top honours. The rivals had met days earlier for a mid-week make-up game at Ambleside Park and battled to a 2-2 draw — leaving the Strikers still in control of their own destiny.
The Selects were hardly an easy opponent, having finished third in the nine-team league at 12-5-1.
There are typically three Provincial “A” Cup berths available for Lower Mainland teams — the regular season Metro League champion and the two Coastal “A” Cup finalists.
The Strikers also happen to be two-time defending Coastal Cup champions and will begin their title defence early next month. The 2017-18 campaign saw them win the league and Coastal titles while a year ago it was the cup triumph that got them to provincials.
They are two-time bronze medalists at BC Soccer’s showcase tourney.
