Edmonton Scottish United SC coach Scylla Costa said Yukon keeper Tristan Martin played a key role in his club scoring silver at the 2023 Alberta Soccer Provincial championships.

Scottish United is one of seven clubs that have a national youth licence. The club consists of 55 teams plus a Grassroots program, with more than 1,000 athletes in the club.

They are part of the Edmonton Minor Soccer Association (EMSA).

Scottish United SC played in Boys U19Tier 2 at the tourney.

“Most of our players actually were (born in) 2006, so we were supposed to be U17 boys Tier 1, but we had one player that was older, so we moved to U19 Boys Tier 2.”

Costa said it was “awesome” to win the silver.

“It was great to finish the season with that accomplishment. This group of athletes have been very committed with the team. We had a great season. We went to Toronto for a tournament in May.”

After that, their goal was to qualify for the provincials.

“We had a good run at the provincials. We won the first three games. We won 2-1, 7-1 and the semi final was 0-0 but we won on the penalty shootout and actually Tristan made a save, which was fantastic.

“In the finals, we lost 2-1, so it was a good game. It was a close game. They scored with six minutes (left) at the end of the match. And we tried to score the second goal but we couldn’t.

“Although there was like a little bit of a sad feeling, it was a great season and being second best in the province in your age group where you’re actually playing one year up, it was great still.”

The team’s success included a victory in a shootout against OUSC Anthem, a game that was 0-0 before penalty kicks. Martin had a key save during the shootout.

“We scored all five goals. They scored three and he saved one.” recalled Costa.

There was no need for OUSC Anthem to take another penalty kick.

“They couldn’t get to us anymore because it was already five to three.”

Costa said Martin’s play for the club was stellar.

“He had a fantastic season and fantastic tournament as well. It was great. The first game, it was 2-1, so he made at least three great saves for us. It was a tight game.

“The second game, he made two great saves, but we had more goals and we had seven (to) one, so we had more buffer.

“And finally in the semi finals, he also had another great match, with two very important saves, plus saving the penalty, which helped us to qualify for the final.”

Costa said Martin brings some important qualities to the team.

“He’s very calm. He’s very composed. And a great team member. Very committed. Always putting 100 per cent of the effort into practices. Very respectful.

“Clearly, everybody enjoyed having Tristan around on the team.”

After the deciding goal in the semifinal, all his teammates ran to celebrate with Martin.

“It shows how much the team respected and liked playing with him,” related Costa.

Costa listed Martin’s strengths.

“He has great reflexes, he’s great at making saves, unbelievable saves in one v (versus) one situations.

“He also has a fantastic ball distribution once he makes a save. He can quickly send the ball to players that are wide or to players that are more advanced.

“He’s good at communicating with the defence and then helping us to guide which way to go and which way not to go.”

Costa said the only thing Martin needs to improve on is his experience.

“He’s playing already at a great level. It’s just playing more. Get more experience.”

He said how far Martin takes his career depends on how much he wants it.

“I think that he wants it a lot and I think that he can go all the way to professional. That’s what he wants to pursue but that requires some sacrifices as well because if you’re willing to take that to either university level or professional level you have to practice pretty much every day and you have to sometimes even move. That means leaving your family and friends behind and getting a new school. It’s a change of life, right? It’s not just playing for another team. Many priorities in your life change when you do that.”

Martin has moved back to finish his schooling at Mercier CSS this year, but Costa said with Scottish SC, the door is always open for him.

“I’m very thankful for the opportunity to have Tristan on our team. I really appreciate his courage of going to another city without friends, family and trying to reach his goal of becoming a professional goalkeeper and I think that’s awesome. It takes a lot of courage to do that. When I was his age, I lived in the U.S. for one year as an exchange student and I understand the challenge. The challenge is huge.

“I really appreciate everything he has done for us and I hope that we could have helped to develop him a little bit more as a soccer player, as a person as well. And the doors are open for him to come back whenever he wants.”