Who’s the best team in the entire country? This question is quite frequently asked in Canada and truthfully no one will ever have the exact answer as there is no Canadian National competition that involves all teams.
Here at The Playbook however we will try to ‘put the pieces together’ and provide a “monthly insight” into who we think are the best U17 (2006 Teams) are across the country.
Enjoy the read below as this is our 6th Edition (September Recap) of who we think are the best teams despite province, competition, or league.
- Toronto FC Academy U19
Toronto FC U19/ 2006 Boys will remain in the #1 position this month as the team started the League 1 Ontario Reserve Fall Season undefeated notching 5 wins and 0 losses to start the campaign. The biggest wins coming against previously ranked Sigma FC 4-1 and last month’s #7 seed North Mississauga 6-2. TFC will be favoured to go undefeated in the league this fall but only time will tell.
- Vancouver Whitecaps Academy U19
Similar to Toronto FC U17, Whitecaps U17 have now changed to U19 to start in September but the group is still predominantly made up of 2006 born players. The U19’s participate in the Fraser Valley Soccer League and have started the league winning their first game 3-0. We will be watching closely to see if they will win the 10 team league outright as the months continue.
- CF Montreal Academy U19/U23
CF Montreal will stay locked in at the 3rd spot in this edition but unfortunately the group, unlike TFC and VWFC don’t play in any leagues during the fall/ winter. Many players have now made the jump to the CF Montreal U23s and have featured in many PLSQ/Ligue 1 QC games. Also in the last Canada Soccer U17 pre-camp for the World Cup (3) players from the team were called in( Alessandro Biello, Gael De Montigny, and Etienne Godin). As the PLSQ season comes to an end we will keep a close eye on this group to see if any ‘exhibition- games’ are scheduled for the rest of the year.
- Born to Be Academy
Staying put at the #4 position is Born to Be Academy after securing a spot at Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals in August and continuing their undefeated form in their Edmonton regional league. BTB will try to keep this position next month as they head to Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals and in our opinion are “co- favourites” alongside #5 CS MRO.
- Club de Soccer Mont-Royal Outremont
CS MRO stay at #5 in our September recap after closing out their league season with 1 in and 1 tie in the month. The group has officially won the LSEQ U17 league (highest standards league in Quebec) and will be the sole representative from the province at Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals. We predict the only team who will give them difficulty is aforementioned #4 BTB Academy out of Edmonton, but it will definitely be an action packed weekend in Moncton, New Brunswick.
- Rush Academy L1R
Holding firm at #6 is Rush Academy Canada after taking home the League 1 Ontario U19 Reserve division title in August, the team has started the League 1 Ontario Reserve Fall Season with 5 wins and 0 losses. Rush have a big contest in October on Saturday October 14th vs #1 ranked TFC Academy and we will see if they can be the first non-MLS Canadian group to beat an MLS opponent this year.
- Halifax City SC
Moving up one spot to #7 is Halifax City SC. Last month the group qualified Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals with an impressive 4-1 victory over Suburban FC (Honourable Mention team) to secure their spot in the competition. This month the team went undefeated and wrapped up their dominance in the Nova Scotia Soccer League with 2 victories. We have the group as the 3rd best team going to nationals in October and the team should go into the competition with the intent to medal in the event.
- Calgary West 2006 Boys
Calgary West 2006 Boys move up to #9 in the month’s recap. The team is fresh off a Calgary regional league title in the month of September, finishing the season with a 14 win and 1 loss record (only losing the last game of the season once the title was clinched). It’s unfortunate that the group didn’t qualify for Alberta Provincials because in our opinion the two best teams in the province are #4 BTB Academy and Calgary West but regardless of the fact hats off to this group for a fantastic season.
- North Mississauga L1R
Dropping down to #9 in this month’s edition is North Mississauga L1R. The reason for the drop was for their ‘2-loss’ month in the League One Ontario Reserve Fall Season. The losses did come to Toronto FC and Rush Canada ( our #1 and #6 ranked team in the country) so they can be somewhat forgiven but will need to string together a great month of October to avoid dropping any further.
- Burnaby FC
Dropping one spot to #10 is Burnaby FC. The group started the BCSPL mini-season with 1 win , 1 loss and 1 tie as they returned to action after having the last 2 months off. The rust will need to be “shaken off” quickly as they are set to participate at Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals in October and we currently predict the group will not return to BC with a medal with #4 BTB, #5 CS MRO and #7 Halifax City all ranked ahead of them.
Honourable Mention: Edmonton Warriors, St.Laurent , Surrey United SC, AS Laval, Suburban FC, Woodbridge SC, CS Longueuil, Sigma FC, Codiacs FC, Bonivital SC, Saskatoon Alliance Blue, FDSA,North Toronto SC, Calgary Foothills 2006B, Vaughan HP, Vaughan I-Model
