As the North Fraser league champions, the Charles Best Blue Devils will likely have a target on their back for most of the regular season.
The AAA girls' high school soccer squad is already off to a strong start, winning all five of their pre-season games and their first league matchup Wednesday night against Centennial.
But head coach Alfonso Napoletano said his team is far from feeling over-confident about their play.
"I just keep telling them that every team is out to beat us," he said. "You can't take anyone lightly."
The club has been knocking on the door of a provincial title for the last two seasons, losing in the semifinals at the tournament.
Napoletano said the team's goal this year is to win their league again and make it back to the provincial championships. If all goes well, he said the team has a strong chance of bringing home a B.C. banner.
"Our goal is to qualify for the tournament and give it another shot," he said. "If we are healthy and everybody is there I think we have a good chance."
This year, the coach will be relying on the play of two key midfielders, Grade 11 players Andrea Perotta and Addy Townsend. The Blue Devil's striker, Kathryn Harvey, is also an important part of the club's offence, having already scored nine goals for the team in exhibition and league play so far this season.
Having Grade 11s as his top players bodes well for the future of any club, but Napoletano said he has also been impressed with some of his athletes that are still in Grade 10.
"They are pretty good," he said. "We are pretty solid in all positions."
The Blue Devils have set the tone early this season. The squad went 5-0 at a pre-season tournament in Burnaby last week without surrendering a goal.
So far this season, only Centennial Centaurs' Brooklyn Doucette has been able to put the ball past Charles Best's net minder when her team lost 3-1 Wednesday night.
Larry Moro, the Centennial Centaurs coach and league director, said Charles Best is one of the top teams in the province.
"I think they are the class of the league," he said. "They are in the hunt for sure."
WEEK RECAP
The Centennial Centaurs' Brooklyn Doucette opened the scoring eight minutes into the game against the Charles Best Blue Devils on Wednesday.
Unfortunately, her AAA high school girls' soccer club could not sustain the lead for long.
The Blue Devils fired back with three unanswered goals before the first half was finished and sat on the lead for the rest of the game to win the match 3-1.
Meanwhile, the Terry Fox Ravens downed the Gleneagle Talons 3-0 in both team's first of the regular season, while Heritage Woods bested Riverside secondary 3-1. Port Moody lost 3-1 to Maple Ridge.
On Monday, Heritage Woods will host Gleneagle and Riverside will visit Charles Best. Port Moody will take on Terry Fox while Maple Ridge will travel to Centennial.
