John Cudmore, Staff Writer

It has been almost one month since the Newmarket United under-14 girls soccer team punched its ticket to the BMO national club championships in Charlottetown, PEI.

The excitement has been building ever since.

“Wow! Excited isn’t the word,” said head coach Bill Connery, whose team won the right to compete for a national title at this week’s tournament by winning its second consecutive Ontario Cup last month.

“They are so excited, it’s hard to focus on the games. They’re flying right now.”

The team is the first Newmarket Soccer Club youth side to qualify for a national championship.

“The girls are starting to realize now that they are Team Ontario, not just Newmarket and that, for some, this will be the highest level of soccer they’ll play,”  Connery said.

“You have to take it when you can get it.”

Newmarket starts play Wednesday against Prince Edward Island and faces Newfoundland and Labrador Thursday. Following an off-day, a potential key showdown looms Saturday with Alberta.

While the coaching staff intends to scout its competition, Connery said his team will rely on an approach that has been successful.

“Our whole thing is we’re better as a team than any one individual,” said Connery, whose team posted a 12-2-2 record in the elite Ontario Youth Soccer League to match regular season champion Oakville. “We play best as a group and when we’re aggressive and pressure our opponent to create opportunities.

“We don’t rely on one player. If the opposition stops one of our better players, we have two or three others to do the job.”

Although Oakville received the nod for first place in the league based on goal differential, Newmarket is the top-ranked team for its age group in Ontario.

“Our No. 1 goal at the start of the season was to win the Ontario Cup because that gives you a chance at the nationals,” Connery said.