CAPERS ACADEMY 17s BOYS STRIKE SILVER AT CS DIEPPE TOURNEY

CAPERS Academy U17AAA Boys took a break from Nova Scotia Soccer League (NSSL) action at the weekend and came home with a silver medal finish in the CS Dieppe tournament in Moncton.

Head Coach Alasdair Dunbar's side lost 3-0 to the hosts in the round-robin stages but tied 0-0 with local Cape Breton rivals Riverview and defeated a strong Codiac side 2-0 with goals from Colby Wasson and Jaxon MacNamara to claim a slot in the Final.

The CAPERS pushed Dieppe all the way in the Final with Wasson on target again but they were edged out 2-1.

Dunbar's squad are part of the ambitious project that sees the island field six Tier One Academy sides in the NSSL this summer for the first time and are finding their feet now in the elite division.

The CAPERS Head Coach said: "Of the 19 players in our squad only six are actually U17 and the rest are either U16 or in the case of our excellent Team NS Provincial squad keeper Owen MacLean a U15 playing aged up.

"That means this is a huge development year for them and it is great for their confidence and team-bonding to have made this trip together and done so well in the tournament."

The CAPERS 17s Boys are back in action this weekend with a league double-header against Hotspurs Storm on Saturday and Sunday at New Waterford's MacKinnon Field.

Last weekend's tournament was also an excellent venture for the Academy 15s Boys and Girls squads who both came close to making the Finals in their brackets but had to be content with third-placed finishes.

Kuvy Moodley's U15AAA Girls got off to a flyer with a 9-0 defeat of Hampton thanks to an Ella Mills hat-trick, doubles from Ellie Fogarty and Norah MacDonald and goals from Jena Macaulay and Isabelle Curry.

Team Nova Scotia midfielder Norah was on target again in Game Two but the CAPERS fell to a 4-1 defeat from hosts CS Dieppe before a 1-1 tie with Codiac that saw Victoria County product Kamryn Fownes score her first Academy goal.

The 15s Boys under the guidance of co-Head Coaches Josh MacKillop and Jeff MacLean lost 3-0 in their opener to a strong Codiac side but rallied to win 2-0 against CS Dieppe 2 with a double from dangerous striker Darren Sam who had a breakout weekend.

Darren was again on target against CS Dieppe 1 in the pivotal section match and Luke Andrea had the CAPERS 2-1 up but they eventually fell to a 4-2 defeat and were edged out of the Final.

The venture to travel to Moncton is the second collaboration with partner club CS Dieppe after their 15s Boys came to the island for The Friendship Cup in the CBU Dome over the winter.

This time around over 50 island players had the chance to sample excellent soccer against top New Brunswick opposition and enjoy bonding time together off the field and it is a tournament the Academy will support again next summer.

Next month the Academy U13s Girls and Boys squads will be on their travels with a superb 63 players committed to represent the island in the Winsloe Charlottetown Royals Tournament on Prince Edward Island. CAPERS will have three boys teams and two girls teams in the 9 v 9 competition as the growth of soccer on Cape Breton takes another significant step forward.

* SILVER LINING...the CAPERS 17s Boys (left to right) Head Coach Alasdair Dunbar, Jacob Rowter-MacNeil, Colby Wasson, Ronan Sexton, Desmond Deleskie, Ryan MacQueen, Theo Reddick, Jaxon MacNamara, Justus Mills, Randy White, Eric Power, Landon Dunbar, Owen MacLean, Nathan Marmulak.