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) are across the country.
Enjoy the read below as this is our 6th Edition (September Recap) of who we think are the best teams despite province, competition, or league.
- NDC – Whitecaps
NDC- Whitecaps keep their #1 spot in September’s recap. Fresh off their Inter-Provincial Championship the team proved to be the best NDC group in the country. It will be hard to judge any of the NDC groups for the next few months as there are no League One Canada games until next year, but with the National Development Centre Competition announced that will be hosted in Ontario December 4th-8th it will be a great opportunity to evaluate these groups against each other again.
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- NDC – Quebec (CF Montreal Girls Academy)
Holding at #2 in this month’s recap is CF Montreal Girls Academy. The group managed to make the final of Inter-Provincials but lost in convincing fashion to Whitecaps- NDC in the final. Similar to NDC- Whitecaps it will be hard to judge all NDC groups over the next few months but all eyes will be on the National Development Centre Competition in December.
- NDC – Ontario (Next-Gen)
Coming in at the 3rd spot in this month’s update is NDC-Ontario. In the previous 4 Top-10 recaps NDC Ontario was either 1st or 2nd in the rankings but after not qualifying for League One Canada Inter-Provincials saw them drop to #3. This ranking will probably hold for the next 2 months but let’s see what the group can do in December when they host the National Development Centre Competition in Mississauga, Ontario!
4. FC Laval U17 AAA
Staying at #4 in this month’s recap is FC Laval U17. Last month they beat their provincial rival St. Hubert and continued their perfect form until the last game of the season which saw them finish the year with a 12 win, 2 loss and 0 tie record. Unfortunately for them this was not enough to qualify for nationals as #5 ranked St. Hubert finished the season 1 point ahead of them. It will be hard to judge FC Laval U17 moving forward with no league games until 2024 but hopefully we will see them in some showcase tournaments against quality competition in the near future.
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5. St. Hubert U17 AAA
Keeping their #5 spot in this month’s recap is St. Hubert. After their loss to FC Laval in August the team had to stay perfect and not drop any points in order to earn the Quebec spot at Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals and that they did. St. Hubert will go into the competition this week as our favourite to be crowned champions at the event but there are many teams across the country who will look to knock them off.
6. Berlin FA
Moving into the Top 10 for the first time this month is Berlin FA after winning the Ontario Cup and capturing the lone Ontario bid for Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals. Berlin earns the ranking after beating previously #7 ranked Alliance FC London in the Ontario Cup finals. The team will look to medal at Nationals coming up very quickly but will have some major competition from the provinces of Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia standing in their way!
7. Burnaby FC
Dropping one spot in this month’s recap is Burnaby FC. The team is fresh into the ‘BCSPL mini-season’ and the reason for the drop this month is because of a loss they suffered to Surrey United 2-1 . We will see how they fare throughout the rest of the season in BC, but have a great chance to climb up the rankings in our next update with a strong showing at Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals where they will be favoured to come home with gold, silver or bronze.
8. North Toronto Nitros U19 L1R
Holding firm at #8 in this month’s recap is North Toronto Nitros U19 L1R. The group seems to have gained their ‘regular’ form again in the month of September going undefeated with 4 wins & 1 tie. It will be interesting to see if the team can ‘run the table’ for the next few months and climb back up the rankings where they held the #4 position (highest outside of the NDC groups) for quite some time.
9. Calgary West United 2006 Girls
Staying at #9 is Calgary West 2006 Girls. In last month’s update the team ended up qualifying for Nationals after going undefeated at Alberta Soccer Provincial Championships. This month they have managed to pull off an amazing come from behind rally to take first place in the CMSA U17 Tier 1 Girls standings by going a perfect 5-0 and winning the league by just 4 points. Calgary West will be favoured to earn a medal at Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals in Moncton, New Brunswick and let’s see if they can continue this fine form.
#10 London Alliance London FC
Dropping to the #10th spot is London Alliance FC who was previously ranked #7. The reason for the drop this month was the loss to current #6 seed FC Berlin in the Ontario Cup Finals. Unfortunately this loss means the group will not qualify for the 2023 Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals but we are certain Alliance will be able to ‘improve’ upon this ranking with upcoming showcase tournaments that the group consistently participates in.
Honourable Mention: Halifax County, Calgary SWU , United DFC, Fusion FC , Codiacs FC , AK Academy, St.Johns Soccer Club , Sherwood Park Phoenix, Rush Canada U17, Queen City SC, Soccer Dieppe, Langley United, Erin Mills SC, Foothills 2006 Girls
