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Here are some of the highlights from the 30th Annual Westside FC Awards Banquet held May 31st at Heritage Hall.

2007-2008 Westside League Successes

VMSL U-21 Division League Champions: Westside Rino U-21
VMSL Division 1CAT A League Champions: Westside Rangers B
(undefeated season)
VMSL Masters Division 2 League Champions: Westside O-Men B
League Title Runners Up
Westside FC Shooters, MWSL Classics Gold
Westside FC Rino A, VMSL Division 1A
Westside Rino U-21, VMSL U-21 Division
Westside FC Rino B, VMSL Divison 2CAT A

2007-2008 Westside Cup Successes

Senior Womens Provincial A Cup Finalists: Westside FC Premier
VMSL Masters A Cup Champions: Westside FC O-Men A
VMSL Division One League Cup Champions: Westside FC Rino A
VMSL U21 League Cup Champions: Westside Rangers U-21
League Cup Finalists:
Westside FC Shooters, MWSL Classics Gold League Cup
Westside Rino U-21, VMSL U-21 League Cup

2007-2008 Club Wide Awards

The Vince Alvano Award
Established in 2003, on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of Westside Football Club in honour of founder Vince Alvano and awarded annually to the coach or player whose drive to win and ability to motivate is an example to the rest of the club.

2008 Nominees:

John Catliff Katey Grist Keith Moore

Don Cooke Doug Johnston Leah Wong-Moon

Leah Wong-Moon

The Bob Baldwin Award
Established in 2003, on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of Westside Football Club in honour of founder Bob Baldwin and awarded annually to the player who embodies the spirit of Westside, leading their team by example on the field and off.

2008 Nominees:

Miguel Alvarado Geoff Catliff Heather Kisbee

Renne Brown Jason Clemens Jared McGowan

Geoff Catliff

The Jay Skelding Award
Established in 1990, in memory of stalwart Westsider Jay Skelding and awarded annually to the most inspirational and dedicated Westside member (coach, player, manager or sponsor).

Peter Coles

Peter Coles is one of the South Nepean Eight and co-founder of the Westside FC Rangers. For the last 12 years he has built up the Rangers to a squad of four and in the process has kept the club in the premiership. Along the way he has been a tireless, year-round squad manager, event promoter / manager and tour organizer, not to mention stalwart between the pipes or up front when the occasion demanded.

The Mike Pettingale Memorial Scholarship Award
Established in 2007, in memory of stalwart Westside Football Club supporter Mike Pettingale and awarded annually to a graduating grade 12 soccer player enrolled in a full time university or college program who has made a significant contribution to sport in their community by way of playing, coaching, managing and/or supporting.

Michael Branion-Calles

Michael is fantastic inaugural winner. His impressive sports accomplishments include being called up on a youth permit to play in the VMSL premier and 1CAT divisions, playing with the Whitecaps Prospects and being named Athlete of the Year at his high school. Michael is an honour roll student with a strong record of community service.

The Marcus Dressel "Keeper" of the Year Award
Established in 2007, in honour of Westside Football Club builder and keeper Marcus Dressel and awarded annually to the member, family or friend who best captures the spirit of Westside in still photography.

Marcus Dressel (posthumously)

The Marcus Dressel Legacy
Ask not what the club did for Marcus, ask what Marcus did for the club. From lining fields, being the CAT system utility keeper, photographing games and events, tracking teams' stats, building and running the club website, to doing the sound and audio/visual at events, Marcus was all over the shop! Westside will now commemorate him for his prolific soccer photography at the awards banquet through a new "keeper" of the year award.

The amazing flying Marcus ...

Inaugural Mike Pettingale Memorial Scholarship Award Announced!

Westside Football Club announced the details of its inaugural Mike Pettingale Memorial Scholarship which honours stalwart Westside supporter Mike Pettingale and is awarded annually to a graduating grade 12 soccer player enrolled in a full time university or college program who has made a significant contribution to sport in their community. For all the details on the $500 scholarship and the application form and guidelines, visit the Mike Pettingale Memorial Scholarship page. The deadline for this year's award is May 15, 2008.

Westside FC Originals Take the Masters A League Cup
Congratulations to the Westside FC O-Men A for a strong league cup run which this year required a preliminary round match vs. a good Div 1 side and then knocking off four strong premier opponents in a row. The boys haven't hoisted the masters league cup since 2002! In the Classics Gold League Cup Final, Westside FC Shooters fell 0 - 1 to the Meralomas A.

Westside FC Rangers U21 and Westside FC Rino A Take The League Cup
Congratulations to both Westside FC Rangers U21 and Westside FC Rino A for their
recent League Cup victories.

Westside FC Rangers U21 won the U21 League Cup in an extremely tight contest over their rival Westside FC Rino U21 squad that had to be settled on penalties after a scoreless 120 minutes of action.

Likewise, Westside FC Rino A's match with Binger's Army in the Division 1 Cup Final was a tightly contested affair, with Rino's goalkeeper Tyler Wilman pulling off a spectacular save on a penalty kick awarded to Binger's in injury time with the score tied 1-1. Those heroics lifted Rino's boys, who dominated the extra periods and came out victorious 3-1 on the strength of goals by Hakan Isler and Mike Batke.

Two more Westside teams will have a chance at cup glory this weekend as the Westside FC O-Men A and Westside FC Shooters are in action. Here are the details:

Sunday March 30, 2008

VMSL Masters A Cup Final
Westside FC A vs. ICSF Inter
Coq. Town Centre Stadium - 1:00pm MWSL Classics Gold Cup Final
Westside FC Shooters vs. Meralomas A
S. Surrey Athletic Park - 1:30pm

5 Westside Teams Advance To League Cup Finals
Silver could be the in colour this spring as five Westside teams are set to compete in League Cup Finals in the coming weeks. Things kick off this Saturday with a double-header at Point Grey Turf. First, an all-Westside (Rino vs. Rangers) U21 Final is being played at 4pm. Immediately following that game, the Div 1 Cup Final will take place at 6pm between Westside Rino A and Binger's Army. Also looking to bring home some silverware are Westside O-Men A who will meet ICSF Inter in the Masters A Cup Final and Westside Shooters who take on Meralomas A in the Classics Gold Cup Final on March 30 at South Surrey Athletic Park. Finally, the Westside FC Premier Women's team continue their quest for the cup with a semi-final matchup against Surrey United this Sunday morning at Cloverdale Athletic Park. Good luck to everyone!

Westside Teams Finish 1-2 In Under 21 Division
The Westside Football Club has had an outstanding showing this season from its two entries in the VMSL U21 Division with Westside FC Rino U21 finishing in top spot, followed closely by Westside FC Rangers U21. The deciding game was played two weekends ago at Point Grey Turf, where the division leading Rino squad needed only a tie to clinch the championship. Rino's boys did one better, as they came back from an early 1-0 deficit to double up 2-1 over their club rivals. Westside FC Rangers U21 closed out their regular season this past weekend with a convincing 4-2 win over Meraloma SC. Congratulations to both teams for their achievements thus far, and we look forward to more success from both teams in the upcoming league and provincial cups.

Distinguished Westside Member Passes Away
Marcus Dressel, a long time member of Westside, has passed away after bravely battling cancer for the last 7 months. He was a great competitor on the field, a dedicated supporter for all teams within the club, and an inspiration to us all. Literally thousands of pictures and countless hours developing and maintaining the website were just a part of his contribution to the club. Marcus will be missed and always remembered as a proud happy father, loving husband, and wonderful teammate. A memorial service is being held for Marcus at 1pm on Nov. 17 at Oakridge Lutheran Church (585 West 41st Avenue).

13th Annual Westside Football Club Youth Soccer Charity Jamboree
Westside Football Club's flagship youth development event is our annual charity youth tournament which has been going since 1995. Every Thanksgiving, up to 400 boys and girls from age 8 to 10 participate in a fun day of soccer and skills clinics. The event is 100% volunteer operated and all proceeds are donated to charity with the lions share directed toward the Kids Help Phone.

"Devils for Kelli" Take New Balance Award at the Run for the Cure for Second Year in a Row!

Westside FC Red Devils and their extended fundraising team "Devils for Kelli" have done it again!

Generating $25,000.00 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation over the last two year's CIBC Run for the Cure is simply stupendous! Winning the New Balance Award for most funds raised by a womens team at the country's second largest run site two years in a row is pleasant confirmation of a job very well done.

Many thanks are due the extended Westside FC "family" for their continued generosity to such an important cause.

To top it off, the team's biggest single fundraiser the last two years, working her magic this time from a four month European "walkabout" on a clean bill of health, snuck home on the day of the event to surprise her team in person for the walk! Welcome home, Kelli!

Westside Season Opening Results

Westside FC Premier Mens Season Opener - the team looked strong in its opener with the advantage in possession and field position but narrowly lost 0 - 1 to Delta Metro Blaze giving up a well taken goal on a fast break late in the game.

Westside FC Premier Womens Season Opener - the team had strong game but couldn't gather the three points tying Pegasus Alumni FC 1 - 1 on a goal by Clare Rustad with the helper from Michelle DeBoer.

Westside FC Masters Premier Mens Season Opener - "alls well that ends well", they're saying after Westside were up comfortably 2 - 0 at half, were down 2 - 3 at 60 minutes and rallied to win 4 - 3 against Wickham FC.

Westside FC Classics A Womens Season Opener - the team's game was postponed due to field availability issues ... and unfortunately given they had just won the West Van FC tournament the previous weekend!

Westside FC U21 Rino and Westside FC U21 Rangers Season Openers - the two Westside U21 teams were scheduled to face off against each other in their season opener - but it had to be postponed due to field availability issues.

While a few more games had to be postponed, the balance of Westside's mens teams went undefeated in their season openers while the womens teams had more mixed results.

Westside Football Club Adds Two Sides for its 30th Winter Season
On the womens side, the Westside FC Shooters of the Selects division have merged with the Classics A and Div 1 Shamrock Rovers squad. For the 2007 - 08 season, the three teams will become two - a Classics A team called Westside FC Shooters and a Div 1 team called Westside FC Shamrock Rovers. There are so many synergies in the move which those involved can share but from a club perspective, Westside will now compete in two divisions that it was previously not represented in. The MWSL's "Shamrock Rovers" were founded by a group of ladies (Gaelic footballers looking for something new) in 1997 taking the name of the infamous Irish club. They rose from the MWSL 3rd division into the 1st division and added a masters team tasting league title and league cup glory along the way. The combination with Westside was led by Shooters Andrea Clarke and Karen Best and approved by Rovers board members Sue Cannon, Nuala Cyr, (both founding members) and Jann Marie Forgeron and Jen Turner.

On the mens side, the Westside Rino CAT squad is adding a U21 team built around the graduating U18 team from West Point Grey, Gold 1 league and league cup champions. The team will be coached by Haydn Pritchard and managed by Peter Buree a tireless west side soccer builder and currently president of the VYSA. As part of the Westside Rino squad, players will be eligible to CAT onto the Division 1 and 2 CAT Rino teams. Nicolas Kulik and Robert Freedman have been responsible at Westside FC's end to make this happen. This Westside Rino expansion will serve to set up a friendly rivalry within the club with the Westside Rangers also participating in the single VMSL U21 division. Those interested in a trial with the Westside Rino squad should email Derrick Freedman

Saturday July 28th, 2007

14th Annual Westside 7-A-Side Tournament

The Finalists 2007: Blue lead all game and held on for a 5 - 4 victory in an exciting finish.

Bert's tourney report to be posted soon ...

Premier Sponsor: Admiral

Silver Sponsor: Soccer West

Silver Sponsor: Russell Brewing Co

Thursday July 12th, 2007

Keep the Search for Nicole Going Strong
Fundraiser @ Darby D Dawes Rooftop Patio, 2001 MacDonald Street

Westside Football Club and friends (and the Westside Storm in particular) put on a event to support a really important cause: Westside Storm player Nicole Vienneau took off the 06-07 season to travel. She went missing in Syria this spring and the search continues ...

Westside FC raised $1500 on the night to support the ongoing search. Heather Kisbee championed the fundraising and was responsible for much of the success of the event.

See http://vienneau.livejournal.com/39588.html for more information on Nicole and the search and see www.findnicolevienneau.com to donate online.

Many thanks to Darby D Dawes for their generous support!