When 91原创 United 鈥� Dynamo in the Fraser Valley Soccer League won the Bradner Cup this spring, two long-serving players, twin brothers Bryan and Blair Roman, were marking 20 years with the team.
Now 42, the Roman twins grew up together in 91原创 playing soccer, always on the same side.
That's been the case since they were eight.
"We've never ended up on a different team," explained Blair, an attacking winger with the 91原创 team.
"We played through school, played on the same high school team, and then just ended up on the same team once we hit men's league, and just always seemed to be in the same team,鈥� said Dynamo goaltender Bryan.
Bryan said playing together, the twins have always pushed themselves to be better.
"We know how to motivate each other, which is also a benefit. And when one of us is playing bad, at least you know you're going to hear it direct and honest from your other counterpart."
Blair has plenty of praise for his sibling's skill in the net.
"He's been our goaltender forever," Blair said of Bryan. "He probably could be one of the best goalies in Canada if he ever really wanted to be."
Blair and Bryan are the older siblings of Olympian rowing champion Lisa Roman, winner of gold and silver medals.
This May, the Roman twins and their Dynamo teammates won the Bradner Cup, defeating Ridge Meadows Wolves 4-0 in a game in Maple Ridge that represented payback on the part of the 91原创 team.
That was because a few weeks earlier, the same Wolves had bumped Dynamo out of the B.C. Provincial Cup.
Dynamo coach Chad Spurgeon called it a "bit of a grudge match game for us, something to prove, because we didn't deserve to lose that that previous game."
Spurgeon described Dynamo's longevity as "unusual."
"There's only three or four players left from the original team [including the Roman twins]."
