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Whistler secondary soccer team ready to take on province

The Whistler Secondary Storm boys soccer team is three and one this season, with shut-out wins against teams from Pemberton, Mt. Currie and Lillooet, and a 5-3 loss against the Vancouver Waldorf School.

The Whistler Secondary Storm boys soccer team is three and one this season, with shut-out wins against teams from Pemberton, Mt. Currie and Lillooet, and a 5-3 loss against the Vancouver Waldorf School.

The teams’ biggest challenge lies ahead next week, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 as Whistler plays host to the B.C. High School Senior Boys A Championships. ‘A’ division is for schools with 500 students or less.

"They’ve been training very hard, two practices a week, and playing in every game they could find," said Andree Janyk, assistant coach for the team and the tournament organizer.

Each of the 12 teams in the tournament will play three or four games on both Thursday and Friday, with the top four teams advancing to the playoffs on Saturday.

The team had a close call when they lost goalie Michael Messeguer in goal. Although he will be playing in the midfielder position, Messeguer is recovering from an arm injury that hurt his ability to play in goal. "We were lucky in that we found a really strong keeper in goal in Cole Stewart, and that put another strong player (Messeguer) on the field," said Janyk.

While a team effort helped contribute to three shut-outs this season, Janyk said Peter Skyrabin’s skills as a sweeper took away a lot of chances for opposing teams.

"He has a very strong and accurate player with a really big kick," said Janyk.

Skyrabin is also one of a handful of veterans on the team, with a number of players graduating last season. "The kids from last year know what it takes, and provide a lot of leadership to the new kids. They really get along well and play together as one team."

Steve Romanin and Patrick Wiebe have been solid producers in the forward positions, and Francois Ligeti has been tough in the centre position.

The games run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday at both Myrthle Philip and Whistler Secondary. The final matches will run from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., followed by an Awards Ceremony at Myrtle Philip.

The social events include a Halloween dance on Thursday and a players’ banquet on Friday.

For more information on the event, visit the Whistler Secondary School Web site at www.whistlersecondary.com.

The players on the Storm soccer team are:

Charlie Calladine, defense, Grade 10

Jeremy Caverly, defense, Grade 10

Rory Eusan, midfield, Grade 11

Jesse Juniper, midfield, Grade 10

Robbie Laird, midfield, Grade 10

JD McLean, midfield, Grade 10

Michael Messeguer, midfield, Grade 11

Cole Nelson, forward, Grade 10

Ben Pickering, midfield, Grade 10

Cole Reade, midfield, back up keeper, Grade 10

Grady Widdess, defense, Grade 10

Patrick Wiebe, forward, Grade 12

Francois Ligeti, forward, Grade 11

Jerry McArthur, midfield, Grade 11

Peter Skryabin, sweeper, Grade 12

Cole Stewart, keeper, Grade 11