Game Report: Burnaby FC
- Elise Coates
- Apr 29
- 3 min read
A weekend of battles! The Burnaby FC teams were fierce match ups for our squads, resulting in some serious action this weekend.
WOMEN’S GAME
“We won the most free kicks given, we won with the least amount of fouls given. They were super super physical - if you can win physicality, that’s really good, but just don’t overdo it,” commented forward Victoria Cronkhite. The game against Burnaby was quite the battle last Saturday. Wildwood Health’s athletic therapy tent was always busy. The game’s physicality meant that there was quite the need for ice packs, taping, and general assessments to make sure the gals weren’t too battered. “Jade [Dillabough] went airborne and fell straight on her hip bone. She's got at least a bruise, and she can’t walk on her own right now, which is really unfortunate,” noted Cronkhite. After the game, goalie Kaiden Thorpe was still unable to move her jaw properly after being kneed in the face during a save.
“We won the second half,” said midfielder RJ Barfoot. The squad picked it up a notch in the second half and 65 minutes in, Christine Moser received a sweet pass at the top of the box and sent a rocket of a shot into the top right corner. Nanaimo’s centre mids looked threatening the whole half, and Jensa Napier-Ganley hit the post with 2 minutes to go.
RUN IT BACK - PLAYS OF THE GAME
Check out Christine Moser’s epic goal! What a play leading into it.
Jensa Napier-Ganley was so close to making it a tie game! Another threatening play - the midfielders and forwards were on the attack in the second half.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT - VICTORIA AND RJ
RJ Barfoot and Victoria Cronkhite may be the two youngest players on the field but watch out! They are committed to the game and ready for anything. Both still in high school, the 17 year olds are psyched to be playing League1.
“I love this team a lot,” says Cronkhite. “It’s the closest thing to professional soccer I’ve ever been a part of and it’s really really exciting.” Cronkhite is no stranger to top level soccer though. “I played for the Switzerland national team back last year in February which was really exciting. We went to a camp in Italy. I got two caps and about 44 minutes of playing time which is super exciting. My mom is Swiss. We won against Italy and beat Germany in PKs.” She currently attends Spectrum Community School in the Victoria region.
RJ is from Nanaimo and is in her final year at Barsby Secondary. “I’ve committed to UNBC [University of Northern British Columbia]!” she announced during the interview. League1 is the perfect opportunity for RJ to get some solid training and game time before her varsity rookie season.
MEN’S GAME
“We showed great work ethic and character throughout the full 90 minutes. We just need to be more decisive with our off ball movement when playing out of the back,” commented midfielder Declan Brown. The men fought hard and kept it 0-0 the entire first half, but conceded a goal at the 65 minute mark. “Marko made some good saves to keep us in it in the first half,” added Brian Bland, a League1 rookie. “We came out better in the second half but we weren’t clinical enough in the final third.”
RUN IT BACK - PLAYS OF THE GAME
Marko Ilich was at it again - it’s like his cleats have wings! Check out his double save 9 minutes in:
STAY TUNED
Next weekend is the first leg of the Reid Davidson Charity Shield. The Shield is a total points home-and-home face-off against Kamloops FC. The clubs are working together to honour and remember Reid, and to establish scholarships in his name in their communities. Revisit last year's Shield action: 2024 first leg pre-game and game report, second leg pre-game and game report.
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