Division 1 Weekend results from the past weekend.
| VI Wave – (D1) | 0 | |
| Cowichan FC – (D1) | 2 |
Cowichan FC – (D1)
Goals: Patrick Nelson (2)
Shutouts: Scott Brown
*—————————————-
| Campbell River Cermaq – (D1) | 1 | |
| Lakehill Maple Glass – (D1) | 0 |
Campbell River Cermaq – (D1)
Goals: Kellen Arnink
Shutouts: Beau Belle Oudry
*—————————————-
And our Game Of The Week:
| Vic West FC – (D1) | 2 | |
| Gorge FC – (D1) | 2 |
Vic West FC – (D1)
Goals: Mateo Ventura, Craig Taylor
Gorge FC – (D1)
Goals: Jon Shah (2)
A cool night at Hampton Yard had long time divisional rivals Gorge FC hosting Vic West FC.
Both teams are chasing Cowichan LMG in Division 1 for the Garrison Cup Divisional Championship, but both teams are also looking to qualify for the BC Soccer Provincial Cup. 1st and 2nd places of Division 1 are guaranteed a Provincial Cup berth, 3rd and 4th will have outside shots pending who makes the Jackson Cup Final on Sunday April 2 at Royal Athletic Park. Both Finalists of the Sir John Jackson Cup will also be guaranteed a BC Soccer Provincial berth. If there is duplication in the Finalists of the Cup and 1st & 2nd place of League, then the next team in highest position will be offered the berth. Another reason why the remaining part of the League schedule will prove to be very exciting the rest of the way.
Gorge were in their alternate jerseys tonight; the red jersey sponsored by Team Sales.
Vic West were in their new greens; sponsored by Rebalance & Ossur.
It did not take long for the first goal of the game. Jon Shah got Gorge on the scoreboard first – at the 10 minute mark. A nicely taken half volley to beat Keeper Hide Ozawa of Vic West. Jon Shah struck again at the 24 minute mark. This time he beat Keeper Ozawa to the ball in a footrace and was able to tap it past him to put Gorge up 2-0.
Vic West got right back into the game shortly afterwards as Craig Taylor finds the back of the net after a great 1 time volley. Now at 27 minutes, the lead was cut to 1 as Gorge led 2-1.
Jon Shah had a chance to get his 3rd of the night – he was in close vs Ozawa, this time the Vic West Keeper was able to stonewall him from in close. Jordie French had 1 more chance to get Gorge up by 2 again, but his shot went over the bar.
Halftime arrived and the score remained 2-1 in favor of Gorge.
The next 20 minutes were pretty quiet, quiet until Leo Falzon had a chance to tie up the game. His shot went just wide. Leo was reported to be on the team earlier in the year, but actually did not sign until the 2nd half of the season. He was the VISL Rookie of the Year in 2013/2014 and the Division 1 MVP 2014/2015 – both times with his former club – Saanich Fusion.
As the game progressed, play seemed to get a bit more physical in the midfield which led to some cautions over the next 15 minutes of play. Referee Evan Fryer had excellent control of the match and was able to manage the game accordingly.
It looked like Gorge was going to lock down defensively and ride out the remaining 10 minutes of the game, but that changed at 85 minutes. Youth permitted player Mateo Ventura hits a screamer top shelf to level the game score at 2-2. An absolute beauty of a goal. Without question, Ventura has been one of the best youth players to step up into the 1st division under permit.
There was not a lot of added time – so when the final whistle came – the score remained 2-2.
Game MVP who was presented a 1550’s Gift Certificate as well as some promotional products from Molson Canadian & Heineken – Jon Shah of Gorge FC.
With the point, Vic West jump into 1st place with a single point lead on Cowichan. Cowichan does have 3 games in hand though.
Gorge; they sit at 29 points, good for 4th place, but 1 game in hand on 3rd place Bays Utd.
Between Cup play and remaining League play – the next 4 weeks are going to get pretty interesting.
All up to date scores and schedules can be found at www.visl.org
Current standings ———— Vic West & Gorge dropped a couple big points with their draw on the weekend.
They have made it that much tougher to catch Cowichan now – still a mathematical chance…..
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Diff | Pts |
| 1 | Vic West FC – (D1) | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 38 | 18 | 20 | 34 |
| 2 | Cowichan FC – (D1) | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 17 | 31 | 33 |
| 3 | Bays United Liquor Plus – (D1) | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 37 | 29 | 8 | 29 |
| 4 | Gorge FC – (D1) | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 24 | 7 | 29 |
| 5 | Nanaimo United FC – (D1) | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 26 | 20 | 6 | 23 |
| 6 | VI Wave – (D1) | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 32 | 30 | 2 | 21 |
| 7 | Lakehill Maple Glass – (D1) | 15 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 24 | 37 | -13 | 13 |
| 8 | Campbell River Cermaq – (D1) | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 18 | 42 | -24 | 12 |
| 9 | Comox Valley United – (D1) | 15 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 21 | 32 | -11 | 8 |
| 10 | SFFC Harris Victoria – (D1) | 16 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 11 | 37 | -26 | 8 |
Next week will have the Jackson Cup ¼ Finals on the schedule.
Down to 8 teams.
VI Wave will face Nanaimo in a mid week league makeup.
Cowichan will face Comox in a league make up as well.
Will be a busy week in local soccer.
Vince Greco
VISL President