P.E.I. F.C. achieves success

Island high-performance squad wins Nova Scotia under-15 soccer title

P.E.I. F.C. won the Nova Scotia Soccer League under-15 boys division this summer. First row, from left, are Will Campbell, Isaac Bourque, Julien Jones, Luca LeClair, Santiago Gomez, Tony Nguyen, Reece Wyand, Nathan Bruce and Lachlan MacEachern. Second row, coach Mark Caudle, Mathias McComb, Nolan Barry, Nicolas Da Costa, Riad Jaha, Mohamad Itani, Sam Akinsola, Patrick Muise, Andrew Stewart, Wil Fradsham, Luke Clark and Jaxon Idt. - Contributed

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – P.E.I. F.C. clinched the regular season title in the Nova Scotia Soccer League’s under-15 boys’ division with commanding 7-0 and 4-0 victories over United D.F.C. during weekend play.

The team finished the season with a 12-1-1 record, outscoring their opponents 51-3 in the process. They held a six-point cushion on second-place Halifax Dunbrack (10-3-1).
“Our goal was to compete with the top three teams in Nova Scotia and it feels pretty great to have achieved this,” said coach Mark Caudle. “We have a talented and skilled group of young men who have set their goals high for Canada’s club championships.”

Sam Akinsola and Julien Jones each scored twice Saturday while singles went to Nicolas Da Costa, Mathias McComb and Jaxon Idt. Nolan Barry earned the clean sheet.

Akinsola add three more goals in Sunday’s finale while Andrew Stewart had the winner. Luke Clark had the shutout.
The team now prepares for Toyota National Championships that are taking place in Laval, Que., Oct. 3-8. Games will be live streamed.

This was the first season P.E.I. F.C., a new high-performance provincial team, competed in the Nova Scotia league at the under-15 and under-17 boys’ and girls’ divisions.
“We are grateful to Soccer Nova Scotia for giving us the opportunity to participate in their youth AAA league this season,” said trainer Mark Idt. “It has been a great learning and development experience for the team.”

Akinsola led the under-15 boys’ division in goals with 24 in 14 while Valley United’s Mowbray Beghin was second with 13 goals in 14 games. Riad Jaha and Jones each tallied five in 14 games for P.E.I. F.C. Barry and Clark led the circuit in goals-against average at 0.2 and 0.22, respectively. Clark had a division-leading six shutouts while Barry had four.
P.E.I. F.C. will be in high gear fundraising during the next month and will take the time to volunteer and support the Terry Fox events in September in appreciation for the community’s support.