An interesting weekend in the VISL top flight has passed, and needless to say, many Division 1 followers would have been proven wrong after looking at the results.
Overall, this is what happened:
The Division started out with a bang as Vic West traveled up to Nanaimo and came away with a 1-0 win over the hosts.
Scoring for Vic West was Matthias Raps.
Earning the shutout for the Greens was Ben Chamberlin.
Friday night also saw a surprising result at Braefoot park in Saanich as Bays defeated Lakehill by a huge scoreline of 5-1.
Scoring for Bays was last years top div 1 scorer Patrick Nelson, as he had 2 goals. Also scoring was Alex Redpath via a gorgeous free kick, Rookie Aiden Taylor, and Nestor Valencia.
The lone goal from Lakehill was also a beautiful free kick, but from Wesley Barrett.
Saturdays first game of the day featured the 2 promoted teams from Division 2 last year.
Juan de Fuca went to Powell River and the local fans were treated to a highly entertaining game to celebrate the community coming together in building new stands at Timberlane Park.
The score finished 1-1 with Kye Taylor scoring for Powell River and Andrew Fitzpatrick scoring for the Westshore boys.
The other game on Saturday from at Nanaimo District Secondary school and Gorge rudely welcomed Mid Isle to the start of season with a 6-1 win.
Scoring for Gorge was Zak Bougraine who had 2, Dominic Colantonio, Anton Bucher, An Own Goal from Mid Isle, and Edward Lawson.
Scoring the lone goal for Mid Isle was Alexander Escobar.
The final game of the weekend was the Game of the Week, and it had Westcastle hosting Cowichan at Royal Athletic Park.
Game score of 1-1.
Scoring for Cowichan was Blaze Roberts and for Westcastle, it was Abraham Dukuly.
So here are the standings after the first week of play has been completed:
Sundays game at RAP also counted for the Cup Winners Cup competition.
Playing for the old Cup that started back in 1904, it features last years Div 1 Champion (Cowichan) and last years Jackson Cup Champion (Westcastle).
So while the league game portion stayed as a tie, both teams needed Penalty kicks to decide this years Champion.
After the 5 were taken by both teams, Westcastle was victorious (5-4 in kicks) and thus winning the game 2-1.
They hoisted the Cup that Cowichan acquired last year, and Cowichan did not look too pleased.
Game MVP was Ethan Monaghan of Westcastle.
A thunderous start to the campaign, and it only proves why the saying/movie “Any given Sunday” is so correct.
Till next week, thanks for supporting local soccer !
Vince Greco
VISL Executive Director