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.