College & University Highlight 2019

Part of CMFSC's long-term vision is for players to continue to find passion and growth long after they've finished their youth careers with CMFSC. In 2017, CMFSC sent 19 players off to post-secondary soccer careers,  a massive 2018 graduating class of 30 Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer players, and this year, 16 more for 2019, represented the club in this Fall post-secondary season across BC, throughout Canada, and into the United States. Of those players and players having graduated in 2016 and 2015, we take a moment to recognize some amazing achievements by CMFSC alumni.

Jacob Powell
University of Saskatchewan

Jacob was a long time player with CMFSC, starting out with the Club at U6! After a successful run with the Club in the BCSPL program, Jacob graduated and started his collegiate soccer career with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. In 2016, Powell was selected to the Canada West Second Team All-Star, and in 2017, he was selected to the First Team All-Star, as well as being on the Dean's Honour List for the 2018-19 season. Now in his fifth and final year with the Huskies, Jacob was named a U Sports Second Team All-Canadian (again). He proved to be an integral part of the team and will continue to make his presence known in the soccer community after graduation. 

(Photo courtesy of Huskies University of Saskatchewan)

Matteo Polisi & Marcello Polisi
Simon Fraser University

Matteo Polisi was a very distinguished member of the CMFSC BCSPL U15 team that won the BC Provincial Cup in 2015, scoring a hat-trick in the second half of the game (including the game winner). After being selected for the Whitecaps FC Residency program, he spent two years with Portland Timbers'  U17/U18 Development Academy. Simon Fraser University was happy to pick him up in 2017 to add to their roster with his brother, Marcello Polisi already on the squad. Since then, Matteo has continued to score game winners, and find success on the soccer field. 

Marcello Polisi, the older of the two siblings, found his own place in Coquitlam Metro-Ford's BCSPL program, as well as leading the Charles Best Blue Devils to a AAA provincial championship in 2015, as well as a stint with the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency program. Upon high school graduation, Marcello had a variety of options including WFC2, and a number of NCAA Division 1 schools, but he decided to focus on a great education, and to stay local with a strong soccer team in SFU. Unfortunately his rookie season with the SFU Clan in 2016 was plagued with injury and placed him as a redshirt for the season. Despite not playing the first season, this would set Marcello and Matteo up to play their first season together in 2017. 

For the third year in a row, both Marcello and Matteo have received D2CCA All-West Region honours in Men's Soccer. Matteo was also selected to the All-West first team, as well as the NCAA Division II Soccer All-American Second Team. Marcello was selected to the All-West second team. This dynamic duo proves to be a force to be reckoned with and further success in the future. 

(Photo courtesy of Tri-City News)

Melanie Osborne
Vancouver Island University

Following her 2018 PacWest Gold Medal and Championships Top Goalkeeper award, Melanie Osborne of the VIU Mariners continued her streak into 2019, again capturing the PacWest Gold Medal and Championships Top Goalkeeper award. Melanie has been a major contributor to the Mariners success as an anchor on the backend of the field. The Coquitlam Metro-Ford graduate was virtually unbeatable recording three shutouts and PACWEST low 0.67 goals against average in 11 games. Melanie and the Mariners, again went to the CCAA Championship. This year, they knocked out the defending champions, Champlain Saint-Lambert Cavaliers, in the semi-finals, in a tight matched game that resulted in penalty kicks. Osborne was noted for some spectacular saves to force penalty kicks. The Mariners would take home the silver medal after a tough loss to the Dynamiques de Sainte-Foy, 3-0. The team as a whole were awarded with the CCAA Exemplary Leadership Award, for their sportsmanship throughout the week. Good luck to Melanie next year, and hope to see another CCAA Final!

(Photo courtesy of VIU Mariners)

Claire Ye
Capilano University

Claire Ye had another great season with the Capilano University Blues. As a former CMFSC BCSPL player, Claire led the team in scoring including some very key goals to get to the semifinals of the PacWest Championships. Tenacious as always, Ye pushed the Blues attack in the semifinal victory over Douglas College and again Saturday in the final. Despite not finding the back of the net at the PACWEST tournament, she impressed with her pursuit of the play, distribution of the ball and her ability to direct the Blues up the field. Along with the silver medal, she was awarded the Top Forward award for the PacWest Tournament. 

(Photo courtesy of Capilano Athletics)

Madeline Moore
Utah Valley University

As a freshman last year, Madeline was named to the 2018 All-WAC team, having started and played in each of UVU's 19 games that season (ranking second on the team in minutes played). She was a difference maker on the field, and helped hold opponents to minimal shots, leading to four season shutouts. This year, the Wolverines improved their team record going 11-9-1 overall. Outside of college, Madeline has been selected to the reserved squad for the Utah Royals FC. The professional club is the current home for Canadian National players, Desiree Scott, and Diana Matheson. In her youth with CMFSC, she was team captain of the BCSPL Storm, a member of the BC Provincial program, and named to the Whitecaps Showcase All-Star team. 

(Photo courtesy of Utah Valley Wolverines)

Katie Lampen
University of Fraser Valley

Along with other CMFSC graduates Halle McCambley, Jashan Sandhar, and Jenna Mele, Katie Lampen, a speedy winger from Chilliwack, joined the Womens University of Fraser Valley Cascades soccer team for the 2019 season.  Lampen, stepped into the starting lineup following an early-season injury to a teammate, and fit in seamlessly. Lampen was tied for team-high honours with seven goals, a total which also led all rookies in Canada West. She added two assists, and tied Buttar for second on the team with 31 shots. Lampen's coach, Rob Giesbrecht gave a much deserving review, "Katie had an incredible first year. She took advantage of the opportunity presented to her, and never looked back. She's a threat with her pace, her assertive mentality, and her competitive edge." Katie was further honoured as a selection onto the 2019 Canada West Women's All-Rookie team. 

(Photo courtesy of UFV Cascades)

Janko Vong
University of Alberta

Janko Vong has been an integral member of the University of Alberta Golden Bears. For the second year in a row, Vong was selected to the Men's Second All-Star Team as a defending player. The Bears had a great season with highs and lows, but were eliminated in the Canada West quarter-final in a tight 1-0 game to the UBC Thunderbirds. As a CMFSC player in his youth, Vong captained the U15 Boys BCSPL that won the 2013 BC Provincial Championship and Northwest Champions Cup. Continuing that success the following year, Vong captained Coquitlam’s U16 side that won the 2014 BC Soccer Premier Cup and won the 2014 Sport Chek national club title. He was also a member of the BC U16 Provincial team.

(Photo courtesy of University of Alberta Athletics)

Tannis McKay
Radford University

Tannis McKay's Radford University Highlanders finished the regular season on a high-note, with 16 wins, and 6 losses, qualifying for the Big South Tournament. The Highlanders defeated Longwood, and a highly ranked Campbell, to play them in the finals against Gardner-Webb. Despite going down 1-0 in the first half, the Highlanders never-quit and turned in 2 unanswered goals to win the Big South Title. The win sent the Highlanders to the prestigious NCAA Div 1 Tournament in a field of 64 other teams. Their spectacular 2019 run came to an end in the first round after a loss to the Virginia Cavaliers, but the season will definitely be one to remember. Having just graduated from CMFSC's BCSPL program in June of 2019, as a freshman with the Highlanders, Tannis will look to build on her contributions with the team and continue to take on a more integral role next season. 

Lauren Da Luz
University of Ottawa

Lauren had an exciting season with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. After going undefeated throughout the season, the team did this and that...

The team's success in the 2018 season led to their selection to attend the inaugural University World Cup in Jinjiang China. Hosting more than 400 student-athletes, the Gee-Gees played teams from around the world including  Paulista University (BRA), Donghua University (CHN), Colleg of Asian Scholars (THA), Siberian Federal University (RUS), and Beijing Normal University (CHN). After playing 5 games in 10 days, they were able to celebrate the monumental win as World Champions! Check out the highlights from the gold medal game below:

Congratulations to Lauren and the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees!

(photo courtesy of University of Ottawa Athletics)

As CMFSC players head off into different directions to make their mark at their various post-secondary institutions, we wish them the best of luck and hope they one day might return to play or coach with the Club they grew up with. 

Did you know Coquitlam Metro-Ford has a University Recruitment Program? This initiative was started in 2014 to support our members in their collegiate soccer recruitment process with multiple workshops each year that provide families with key information. To learn more about the program and read some of our testimonials, please click here.