Week In Soccer Review, July 26th 2019

This week in Vancouver Island Soccer... Canadian Premiere League: Pacific FC managed to climb up two spots on the table to 5th place after a decisive 3-1 win at home vs. HFX Wanderers in front of a rowdy home crowd. With Summer going full blast here on the Island, we're heading into a long drought of home game action as Pacific FC returns to Westhills on August 24th. Until then, we look forward to cheering them on from the pub as they try to scoop up points on the road. PFC's next match at Valour FC is on Wednesday, July 31st. 2019 Canadian Championship: Of course, the big news coming out of the CanPL this week was all about the Voyageurs cup. The 3rd qualifying round saw intense action between some of Canada's top professional teams, and the Whitecaps. In the three final leg matches this week, Montreal came out ahead of York9 FC with a 3-2 aggregate scoreline. Ottawa Fury FC is moving ahead after defeating HFX Wanderers FC in a thrilling 5-4 aggregate scoreline. And finally, proving to everyone that Tommy Wheeldon Jr. doesn't know how to lose, the Whitecaps failed to impress the 50 people who showed up to BC Place to watch Cavalry FC finish off Major League Soccer's most beleaguered team with 1-2 on aggregate. The semi-final round of the Voyageurs picks up again on August 7th with Fury taking on Toronto FC and Calgary likely making an impact against Montreal. Pacific Coast Soccer League: The Victoria Highlanders Reserves had an amazing weekend, with back to back wins and clean sheets against Kamloops and Khalsa Sporting Club, with a 6-0 and 5-0 goal fest respectively. These two final wins of the regular PCSL season cemented the Highlanders at the top of the table, tied with points with FC Tigers Vancouver but coming out ahead with a 12 goal lead on goal difference. The Highlanders won the league, but they're not done yet. Tomorrow starts the Challenge Cup competition, which for the first time in quite a few years is hosted here on Vancouver Island at Centennial Stadium on the lovely grounds of the University of Victoria. The Challenge Cup is a simple 4 team competition format with the semi-finals double header on Saturday and the finals on Sunday. The Lake Side Buoys will be headed to Centennial for both days, be sure to head to the Centennial parking lot for an informal tailgate starting before noon. This will be the last live local soccer we get to enjoy for about a month, so come out and SUPPORT LOCAL SOCCER! And now you're all caught up.

Week in Soccer Review, July 17th 2019

This week in Vancouver Island Soccer...

Canadian Premiere League

It was another 2-3 loss at Westhills on Saturday against Spring Season runners-up, Forge FC. We’re only two games into this half of the season and this latest result drops Pacific FC all the way to the bottom of the Fall Competition table at 7th place. It’s interesting to note that Pacific has managed to score 4 goals in their last 2 games, but still let 6 goals in. Hopefully head coach Silberbauer sees this as a need to change up his defensive game moving forward.

The top three spots are the same as they were during the Spring Season, with Cavalry, Forge and Edmonton leading the league.

Pacific FC faces York9 tonight away. The Lake Side Buoys will be cheering them on from the Yates Street Taphouse in Downtown Victoria. Our next home game is this Saturday at 3PM at Westhills Stadium against Halifax.

USL League 2, Northwest Division
It was pretty clear that the loss of multiple players had a massive detrimental impact to the Victoria Highlanders as their final three games saw them chasing the game instead of dominating it as they mostly had all season up to that point. This last weekend had back to back games vs. Calgary that had Victoria flying back home without a single point to show for it. Their first matchup on Friday saw some of the best action from this team after the roster shakeup with a very tight 2-3 scoreline. The following game on Sunday, however, made it obvious that the Highlanders had nothing left to play for and ended up getting played off the pitch with a loss of 3-nil.

With regular league play concluded, the final Northwest Division table shows the Highlanders at 4th place on the table. Calgary Foothills FC comes out on top again and will go on to defend their title as league champions from last season.

It’s always remarkable to see how competitive the Northwest Division is, with the table shuffling every week and the division leader usually being decided in the final game or two. It’s a testament to the quality of talent we can foster here in the Pacific Northwest.

Pacific Coast Soccer League:

A rough weekend for the Highlanders Reserve team saw back to back losses on the road against PSC Tim Horton Pinnacles and Okanagan FC. This coming weekend has the Highlanders playing their final two games as they take on Kamloops Wolfpack on Saturday and Khalsa Sporting Club on Sunday, both at home.

The Highlanders are currently second on the table, trailing 3 points behind table leaders FC Tigers Vancouver. Hopefully they can shake their current losing streak and get back into the form they had earlier in the season. It’d be nice to finish strong and gear up for the Challenge Cup, which, according to my math, the Highlanders are guaranteed to be in even if they throw their next two games.

And now you're all caught up.

Week in Soccer Review, July 12th, 2019

This Week in Vancouver Island Soccer... Canadian Premier League: Our Cavalry rematch last week saw Pacific FC starting off the Fall Season of the CPL with a loss at home, which puts us in 5th place on a brand new table with zero points. The Fall Season has considerably more games in it than the Spring Season, which means the latter half of this year will be more of a marathon than a sprint. Accumulated injuries will be defining factors over, not just Pacific FC's potential success, but other clubs as well. Pacific FC will take on Spring Season runners-up Forge FC tomorrow at Westhills Stadium, kickoff is at 3 PM. In addition to regular league action, this week we were also treated to a few surprising matches in the Canadian Championship. In historic firsts for the league, teams from the CPL challenged two clubs from the MLS in what turned out to be tightly contested draws, undoubtedly surprising those who assumed that the MLS teams would easily outplay the new upstarts. USL League 2, Northwest Division: With the Juan de Fuca Plate on the line, the Victoria Highlanders took on the Vancouver TSS Rovers at home last week, but came up short. This is likely due to a grand total of 5 of our players departing the club shortly before the match, some of whom had been instrumental in our season's successes up to that point. We wish our lads who are moving on to greener pastures all the best... Even if some of us wish they could've stayed for just one more game. The roster shakeup likely also contributed to a 1-2 loss away to Sounders U-23s over the weekend. With two more games away at Calgary remaining for the regular league, and the Highlanders having slipped down the table to 3rd, our hopes of a post-season are looking bleak, but not impossible. Seattle, who currently enjoy the top spot on the table, would have to lose their final game and the Highlanders would have to win their final two matches vs. Calgary to come out on top. Stranger things have happened. Pacific Coast Soccer League: The Victoria Highlanders reserves in the PCSL suffered their first defeat of the season to FC Tigers Vancouver last week, dropping them to second place on the table. It's entirely possible for the Highlanders to regain their position as they have 3 games in hand over the Tigers with only a 3 point difference. With 4 games left in the regular season, it's looking extremely likely that the Highlanders reserve team will be seeing some post season action. In the PCSL, the top 4 teams from regular league play go on to compete in the Challenge Cup, a grueling two-day affair that can be fairly entertaining. It's also a tournament that we've never won, though we have come close. Women's Premier Soccer League, Northwest Conference: The Vancouver Island FC's season came to a close with their final game at home which ended in a 3-1 win over Vancouver TSS Rovers. This landed them with 18 total points for the season, setting them comfortably in second place in the conference behind Seattle Sounders Women, with a record of 6 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws. Not a bad inaugural season! We're looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish next year. And now you're all caught up.

Canada Day Tifo 2019

Did you catch our tifo display on Canada Day at Westhills Stadium? If not, check it out here:

Supporters' Choice Player of the Year Award 2019

The Lake Side Buoys Supporters' Choice Player of the Year Award for 2019 was awarded to Victoria Highlanders player Shun Takano! Stick around after the presentation for an interview with Takano.