Vic’s best gear up for 2008

By Travis Paterson - Victoria News - April 09, 2008

Select women’s club consistently fields competitive, entertaining soccer teams

Call them the Rodney Dangerfields of the Victoria soccer scene. They don’t get no respect.

The new head coach of the Victoria Stars FC wants to change the fact that the Pacific Coast Soccer League club tends to fly under the radar of local media.

“The time is now for this team to start being recognized for the calibre of soccer that it is,” Brent Garraway said.

The select women’s soccer team draws on the best players from the UVic Vikes varsity club and the Victoria women’s premier league.

Nonetheless, Garraway invites any players who are willing to make the commitment this summer to attend tryouts starting next Tuesday. Players range in age from 17-35 years old, and sometimes girls as young as 16 will make it into the lineup.

Garraway predicted that more and more fans will make their way down to Hampton Park this summer to take in the high-calibre women’s game. The Stars open the season May 10 at home against the Whitecaps’ prospects.

Returning to this year’s team are leaders Caitlin Milloy, Carey Gustafson and Kate Hambleton. In the mix as well is Sarah Rhodes, a senior at Oak Bay Secondary who’s locked up a soccer scholarship with Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash. for next fall.

“We want this to be as professional as possible so commitment’s going to be key throughout the summer,” says Garraway. “But at the same time when people are giving up their summers to do be a part of a team it has to be extremely enjoyable to be part of it or else it’s not worth the time.”

Over the years the team’s collective resume has featured women who’ve played for Canada’s national team, in the Vancouver Whitecaps program, professionally in England and the U.S., as well as many former and current university players.

Perennial favourites in the PCSL include Surrey and Fraser Valley, the latter of which has a pipeline to Trinity Western University. And always a threat is the Vancouver Whitecaps development team, a program that is one step below the Whitecaps of the W-League. The teams share many of the national team program players.

The Stars’ best success came in 2005 when they finished atop the PCSL and won the Challenge Cup under coach George Stewart. After four years, Stewart stepped down, leaving Garraway eager to carry the torch.

Coaching high-level women’s soccer is nothing new for Garraway, who guided Gorge United’s premier team to two league championships in the last three years. He’s also co-coached the Victoria United under-17 girls, a lower Island all-star team and is the coach of Oak Bay secondary school’s senior boys and girls teams.

Garraway played five years for the UVic Vikes and is in his ninth season as a member of Gorge FC premier men’s team.

The first tryout is confirmed for Tuesday, April 15, 8 p.m. at Hampton Park, with subsequent tryouts tentatively set for Tuesdays and Thursdays at that time.

Garraway reminds players unable to attend to the first tryout to contact him via e-mail at brentgarraway@hotmail.com or 744-6660.

sports@vicnews.com

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Vic’s best gear up for 2008

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