Alberta’s Edmonton Juventus boys and Ontario’s Ajax Strikers girls won the U-14 Cup at the 2009 BMO National Championships in Sydney, NS. Edmonton Juventus won 4-2 on kicks from the penalty mark after an 0:0 draw with Ontario’s Markham Lightning in the boys final. Ajax, meanwhile, won 3:0 in the girls final over British Columbia’s Semiahmoo Thunder.

'We found our stride over the course of the week,' said Juventus head coach Kurt Bosch. 'We played some excellent soccer.'

The Edmonton-Markham match was a 'tight defensive battle and a close affair.' Coach Bosch said his team had a good opportunity on a free kick in the last 10 minutes, but the kick just nicked the post. The score finished 0:0 after extra time and both teams took kicks from the penalty mark. All four Edmonton shooters scored while goalkeeper Norbert Janas made two big saves to secure the win.

Edmonton’s starting XI in the final was Janas in goal, Anoop Sahota, Riley Harris, Cameron Sjerve and Marco Saporito on defence, Curtis Wispinski, Ajay Khabra and Sadi Jalali at midfield, and Ajeej Sarkaria, Bruno Zebie and Sebastian Cabrera up front.

In the girls final, Ajax scored two goals in the first 15 minutes and did not look back.

'This was our goal,' said Strikers coach Bob Langford. 'We built (our program) and built in and peaked at the right time.'

Coach Langford said the wind played a big role in the final, so Ajax was fortunate to have it on its back to build a 2-0 lead. Allesia Marzilli scored first followed by Jacky Normandeau.

Ajax’s starting XI in the final was Lauren Henderson in goal, Tiffany Smith, Shaylynn Tell, Nadia Ben Hamond and Leanne Tobin at defence, Jessica Craig, Marzilli, Mackenzie Langford and Normandeau at midfield, and Alexandria Lamontagne-Maycock and Amanda Lunn up front.

'BMO Financial Group, Canada’s Soccer Bank, is proud to be a big supporter of the beautiful game of soccer,' said Michael Bonner, Vice President, Nova Scotia District, Personal & Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal. 'BMO employees and soccer fans alike have been thrilled with the level of competition at the BMO National Championships here in Sydney. We are proud of these exceptional athletes and want to thank all the volunteers who helped stage such a stellar competition.'

The top four teams in the boys competition were Edmonton Juventus, Markham Lightning, Coquitlam, and FC Challengeur. Jaydon McIvor of Portage Trail SC won the Top Goal Scorer award, Edmonton Juventus won the BMO Goal Saver Award, and Coquitlam won the Fair Play award.

The top four teams in the girls competition were Ajax Strikers, Semiahmoo Thunder, Boisbriand, and Calgary Blizzard Juventus. Valérie Sanderson of Boisbriand won the Top Goal Scorer award, Ajax Strikers won the BMO Goal Saver Award, and FC Chaleur (New Brunswick) won the Fair Play Award.

BMO Financial Group is proud to support soccer at all levels across Canada, from grassroots to Canada’s national teams. Starting with sponsorship of more than 400 Canadian youth teams to the title support of elite youth players at the BMO National Championships, through to the professional-team support (Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC) and sponsorship of the Canadian men’s and women’s national soccer teams, BMO Financial Group is serious about Canadian soccer. For more information on BMO’s support of soccer in Canada, visit bmosoccer.com.