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) across the country.
Enjoy the read below as this is our 2nd Edition (May Recap) of who we think are the best teams in the country despite province, competition, or league.
- NDC- Whitecaps
The NDC- Whitecaps come in as our new #1 team in this edition of our Top 10 U17 Teams. The main reason for this bump was their impressive victory at the Blue Stars FIFA Youth Cup in Zurich, Switzerland. They were the only team who represented North America going up against some of the world’s best clubs like Arsenal FC, Juventus FC and FC Basel to name a few. On their quest for victory Whitecaps defeated FC Zurich and FC Basel to take the championship back home to Canada. U17 players Noelle Sather (2006), Ashley Roberts (2006) & Keira Martin (2007) all started in the final and while the team is also 2nd place in League 1 BC with 5 wins from their first 6 games we salute the fantastic month to the girls on the west coast.
- NDC – Ontario (Next-Gen)
NDC Ontario checks in at #2 in this month’s edition of our Top 10 U17 Teams dropping 1 spot from Edition #1. The team had a ‘good’ month of May most notably going undefeated in the Umbro Showcase knocking off Sask Rex (1-0), North Toronto 2005G (1-0 & 4-0) and Burlington Force (1-0). Some Next-Gen players like Nikolina Istocki and Ella Kettles have also been called up to League 1 Ontario and have performed very well,helping the group remain undefeated in the league with a perfect 7-0 record. The reason for the month being ‘good’ and not ‘great’ is for their league performance. Next-Gen play league games against U14 Boys in OPDL where they currently are 1-3 in their first 4 games.
3. NDC – Quebec (CF Montreal Girls Academy)
Staying put at #3 is NDC-Quebec, but there could be an argument made that they should be higher. Both their ‘senior’ and ‘junior’ teams are currently undefeated in their L1QC and U21 AAA leagues respectively while 2006 born striker Ether Brossard leads the entire L1QC in goals. It will be interesting to see if the group can keep this up throughout the whole summer but what a start to the campaign and with continued results expect them to crack the top 2 in a few months.
4. North Toronto Nitros U19 L1R
North Toronto Nitros U17 remain at #4 in our U17 Top 10. With only 1 loss coming on opening day the team has reeled off 4 straight wins to open up league play in League One Ontario Reserve. At the Umbro Showcase the team won 2 out of 3 games beating the likes of Aurora FC and Markham FC and only losing to Fusion FC (who made the jump up from #7 to #5 in this update). As the season continues North Toronto seems like the most likely team to ‘break into’ the ‘National Development Centre’ Top 3.
5. Fusion FC U17 BCSPL
Jumping two spots in this ranking is Fusion FC U17 BCSPL after their impressive showing at the Umbro Showcase. Fusion actually defeated the #4 ranked team North Toronto 3-1 at the event, and if it wasn’t for a 2-0 loss against unranked Aurora we would have probably had them even higher then this position. The roster is stacked top to bottom (they recently just had another player commit NCAA Division 1) and finished 1st in BCSPL League play which concluded last weekend. It will be interesting to see if they can finish the job and qualify for Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals in these next few weeks but we are confident #9 Mountain United will try to have something to say about that.
6. Erin Mills Eagles U17
Staying put in the #6 spot is Erin Mills Eagles U17. The team came off a great month of May going undefeated winning all 3 games in the “2nd Division” at the Umbro Showcase and remain undefeated in league play in the ‘Golden Horseshoe Soccer League’ with two wins. We expect Erin Mills to run the table this summer until they face some stiffer competition in the Ontario Cup but staying perfect is never easy.
7. Dollard U17 AAA
We make mistakes and have to admit one here by not putting Dollard SC in our initial Edition for the U17 Girls Rankings. Last year Dollard SC were undoubtedly the best team in Quebec winning the AAA league, the U16 AAA playoffs, and Provincial Cup. Even though losing a few players to PEF Quebec the team is still extremely strong with midfielders Imane Si Kaddour, Helena Iranpur, Jessica Fidhi and Leyla Boursiquot.Currently they have started off their U17 AAA campaign with 3 wins and 1 tie and will be a favourite out of Quebec to land a spot at Nationals.
8. Halifax Dunbrack U17 AAA
Dunbrack remained in the 8 spot after here in our May recap. In league play they currently sit 2nd place with 4 wins , 1 tie and 1 loss. The loss coming against Suburban, a team they all beat this year as well. At Umbro the team had a good showing finishing the event with 1 win, 1 tie and 1 loss, with the lone loss being against #6 Erin Mills by the score of 2-0. With difficult games on the horizon in the next few weeks most notably against 1st place PEI FC and the Nova Scotia Provincial Cup (which they need to win to qualify for Nationals) we will be watching to see how Dunbrack fair.
9. Mountain United U17 BCSPL
Mountain United U17 BCSPL remain at #9 in our latest ranking. The girls finished the BCSPL season in 2nd place only behind #5 Fusion FC to close out the month of May. Mountain will look to reverse this trend in the month of June as both teams (Mountain and Fusion) are favored to make the final in the U17 BSCPL girls division. If Mountain can go on and win the BSCPL it is almost certain they will move up the charts in the Edition #3/ June recap.
10. SWU Premiers 06 Girls
SWU are the last new addition to the this Edition #2/ June recap after starting the CMSA season undefeated across 4 games. SWU have knocked off Calgary Foothills 2006 (formerly 10th place) 3-1 already this season and remain the only undefeated U17 Girls team left in Calgary. This SWU group by and large has been together for about 3 years now but the core of the group has remained consistent since U11. Standout players Mya Lattelier (CDM/CB), Dany Juarez (CF/Wing), Julie La Rotta (CM), Julie Sorochan (LB/LW), and Sam Torres (CB), are some of their most notable standouts and this does not include Whitecaps-NDC players Aja Turner and Maddie Martin who left the group at the conclusion of last year. Despite the hot start it definitely doesn’t get any easier for SWU as their next 3 league games are all versus teams in the Top 4 in the current CMSA standings.
Outside looking in: FC Laval U17 AAA, Alliance London U17 , Suburban U17 AAA,PEI U17, Hamilton United L1R, Aurora FC, Sask Rex, Rush Canada, Ottawa TFC, UDFC U17 AAA, Calgary Foothills U17,