Tsawwassen Royals have produced back-to-back victories to crawl back to the .500 mark and solidify their position in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League's First Division.
The Royals now stand in fourth place in the 12-team division with a 4-4-1 record after being promoted last season from the Second Division. The move to a more competitive level meant some additions to the roster but, at the same time, not taking away one of the club's main objective, which is a place to play for local players.
Coach Jim Norris says the players themselves realized that an infusion of talent would be necessary to be competitive and that South Delta has and is developing very good players that do not need to play for other clubs in the Lower Mainland.
"Regardless of the level we are playing at, the Tsawwasen Royals are always going to be a South Delta team made up of mainly South Delta players," he said.
.Norris points to the recent signing of striker Owen Sinclair, a Tsawwassen native who any Premier team would welcome .
New additions also include Owen's brother Magnus, Ladner's Sean Cassidy and Cam "Snake" Gardner.
Two weeks ago, Mitch Norris scored twice and Zac Dabrowski added another on a beautifully taken free kick to lead Tsawwassen to a convincing 3-0 win over NK Hrvat.
Last Friday at Winskill turf, goals from Poul Dempster and Cassidy was the difference in a 2-1 win over Westside Rino.
"Our objective for the season is stay in the first division," added Norris. "The pace is certainly quicker and mistakes are punished at this level."