4 Richmond Hill Teams Advance in Ontario Cup
By: Lisa-Marie Curti

The Richmond Hill Soccer Club is proud to announce that four of its rep teams have advanced past preliminary competition in Ontario Cup.

The U-15 Boys White, advance to the semi-finals played at Birchmont Stadium in Scarborough on August 29th, while the U-13 Boys White, U-16 Boys Tier 2, and U-21 Women advance to the quarter-finals; the latter playing on July 19th, and the two boys teams playing on August 15th.

“Our main challenge is overcoming injuries and the health of our core players,” said Kent Green, coach of the U-21 Women’s Provincial team. “The other challenge is to put the best possible team on the field when the time comes.”

The Ontario Cup is the province’s most prestigious tournament in which all teams of all rep levels are eligible to compete. There are numerous rounds through which a team must pass before being crowned Ontario Cup Champions – starting with a preliminary round robin multiple team knock-out from where one team emerges from each group to compete at either the quarter- or semi-final round.

Winning this tournament is a prestige award that very few achieve in their soccer careers. The Richmond Hill Soccer Club has been fortunate enough to house quite a few teams who won the Ontario Cup – the most recent being the U-21 Women’s team as well as the U-12 Boys A team in 2008, and the U-18 Girls and U-14 Girls teams in 2007, both advancing to the National Championship placing first and second, respectively.

“[Advancing to the quarter-finals] is a means to an end. We won last year and the goal is to defend our title in the finals,” continues Coach Green, “We’ve got unfinished business.”

You can find more information on Ontario Cup competition online at www.ontariosoccer.net.