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Windsor bound for B.C.s with help from opponents

BURNABY Lake Sports Complex, host site for the senior boys AA soccer provincial championships starting tomorrow, is just a few minutes down the highway from North Vancouver but just a few weeks ago it seemed a million miles away to the Windsor Dukes.

BURNABY Lake Sports Complex, host site for the senior boys AA soccer provincial championships starting tomorrow, is just a few minutes down the highway from North Vancouver but just a few weeks ago it seemed a million miles away to the Windsor Dukes.

The story of how the Windsor senior boys soccer team ended up at that tournament is an incredible tale of sportsmanship, stamina and sleep deprivation.

On Monday, Oct. 17, the Dukes were cruising along in first place in the North Shore AA league and aiming for their first trip to provincials in 12 years. By the end of the week all of their points were gone after it was discovered that one of their players, an international student from Mexico who was in his second year with the squad, was too old for the league. The honest mistake seemingly wiped out their season. But then the darnedest thing happened - every team Windsor had already played decided to give them another shot, rescheduling the games to be played in one crazy flurry for the Dukes. It was an exceptional display of sportsmanship that amazed Windsor head coach Stewart Currie.

"It was great sportsmanship by them," he said. "(The other coaches) didn't seem to mind, which was pretty good on their part. . . . If one didn't want to do it then we wouldn't have been able to do it."

Windsor athletic director Alec Lewis worked with the league on a new schedule that would push the Dukes to the limit but also give them all they were asking for: a chance.

On Monday, Oct. 24 the revitalized Dukes took the field to begin their quest - six league games in eight days, including a string of five straight from Oct. 24-28 highlighted by a 7 a.m. kickoff against Collingwood Tuesday and a showdown against Rockridge Friday to end off one long week. The Dukes won them all.

The sleepy showdown against Collingwood finished 00 with Windsor wining on penalty kicks, and the match against Rockridge was decided on a lastminute Windsor goal, breaking a 2-2 tie. On Halloween night the Dukes defeated Mulgrave 3-0 to finish their sprint back to first place, following that up with a 1-0 win over Burnaby's Cariboo Hill in a crossover playoff game to book their spot in the provincial championships.

Tomorrow they kick off in Burnaby facing the prospect of five games in three days to win the provincial title. It's a tough schedule, but if any team there is ready for a daunting challenge it's the Windsor Dukes.

aprest@nsnewscom