PHOTOS: \u2018Goosebumps\u2019 as students fill Surrey stadium for soccer games<\/p>\n
Published 2:00 pm Thursday, May 14, 2026<\/p>\n
Surrey school students and teachers filled Bear Creek Stadium for a pair of Unity FC soccer matches this week.<\/p>\n
The pro-am club\u2019s Surrey Schools Series saw the women\u2019s team face Vancouver Rise FC academy on Wednesday morning (May 13) in BC Premier League (BCPL) play, followed by the men\u2019s side vs. Whitecaps FC academy team Thursday.<\/p>\n
The games were organized to gives Surrey students a chance to experience high-level soccer at the year-old stadium, which seats 2,200 people.<\/p>\n
Wednesday, field-tripping kids clambered to catch free soccer balls and water bottles tossed into the crowd, and cheered loudly when players walked to the pitch and goals were scored.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been absolutely amazing to see the smiles on the on the faces of the kids, and teachers even having a good time. You know you hit the mark when the teachers are having a good time,\u201d Kelcey Brade, Unity FC co-owner and president, said during Wednesday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got goosebumps from all the excitement,\u201d he added. \u201cToday I think we have eight schools and over 1,500 students here, which is amazing. They\u2019re loud, they\u2019re into it. All of the kids are from schools closest to the park here.\u2026 For many of these students, this is their first live sporting event.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pre-match photo-op involved Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke and other civic politicians, refs and club reps.<\/p>\n
Surrey-based Unity FC teams typically play at Cloverdale Athletic Park but moved to the larger Bear Creek Stadium for the Surrey School Series, supported by the City of Surrey and Surrey Schools.<\/p>\n
^^ UnityFC and Rise women take the pitch at Surrey\u2019s Bear Creek Stadium. Men play tomorrow morning at 11am. https:\/\/t.co\/jfe4zbVCav<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ybZw40s0wO<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Tom Zillich (@TomZillich) May 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The soccer league\u2019s spring season ends mid-June, around the time when the 2026 FIFA World Cup starts.<\/p>\n \u201cThe exciting part about this league is the growth and expansion,\u201d Brade raved. \u201cStarting this fall, it\u2019s going to move into a fall-winter season plus spring- summer. So we\u2019re looking to deliver for the players up to 28 games a season. It\u2019s becoming a more competitive season where players can say, \u2018I want to play in this league so I can go semi-professional or I want to go professional.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n A lot of the players are local, from Surrey, Langley, Burnaby and other soccer hotbeds.<\/p>\n \u201cThe last couple years have been great for us because we\u2019ve seen the growth of our club and players now reaching out,\u201d Brade said. \u201cI get emails on a weekly basis from players who want to come try out for Unity, play for Unity, both men and women.\u201d<\/p>\n The men\u2019s side \u201cis in a bit of a re-tooling season,\u201d he added, \u201cwhere we\u2019ve gone younger to really engage with that younger, ambitious player. On the women\u2019s side, this team is hungry. They\u2019ve experienced winning before at different levels and they\u2019ve brought that ambition to try and see if we can win a championship this year.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rise women won Wednesday\u2019s game 3-2, followed by Whitecaps academy\u2019s 7-2 victory Thursday.<\/p>\n For Unity FC schedule, scores and ticket details visit unityfc.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n