An amazing weekend of top flight amateur soccer on Vancouver Island as all top flight amateur teams were in action.
Many things were decided, still a couple details to work out, but the picture has become much more clear.
Here is what took place over the weekend:
-Friday started out with Vic West travelling to Ladysmith to face Mid Isle. Vic West won 1-0.
The result ensures Vic West stays in the top division for next year, and will not be relegated.
The loan goal scorer was Declan O’Callaghan.
Earning his 4th shutout of the season was Ben Chamberlain.
-Friday also saw Cowichan and Bays Utd battle to a 1-1 draw.
Scoring for Bays was Patrick Nelson, and the scorer for Cowichan was Craig Gorman.
The result sees the 2 teams neck and neck for 3rd and 4th place in the division.
-Friday also had the Game Of The Week as Lakehill was hosting Gorge at Braefoot park; in a battle of Saanich.
An ugly night weather wise, but a busy night as many in attendance saw Lakehill defeat Gorge FC by score of 4-2.
Goal scorers for Lakehill had Blair Sturrock & Wesley Nelson scoring 2 each.
Replying for Gorge was Mike Dunham & Arbnor Jusufi.
The result of the match also meant that Lakehill earned their first ever Garrison Cup as division 1 champion.
-Saturday had some important games as well, but they were concerning the other end of the table standings.
Westcastle went into Powell River and defeated Villa by score or 4-2.
Scoring for the guests was Keenen Colley, Joey Seo, and 2 from Noah Lechelt.
Replying for the home team was Kye Taylor and Karson Kroetsch
-The final game of the weekend saw Nanaimo blast Juan de Fuca by score of 5-0.
Scoring for Nanaimo was Colin Jaques with 2, Shun Takano, Andres Algarin, and Daragh Fitzgerald.
Earning the shutout for the hosts was Geoff Hackett.
So now the picture becomes a little more clear as to final placements.
Here is what the live count is:
What we know for sure is that Lakehill and Westcastle are finishing 1 and 2.
We also know that Vic West and Nanaimo are finishing clear or relegation zone.
We know that Mid isle is finishing 10th place and being relegated.
We do not know which team will be joining them – will it be Powell River or JDF?
There is still a pretty big battle happening for places 3-5 ,,,,,,and those could potentially be Provincial Cup berths.
Another personal battle is the goal scoring championship.
Looks like it will take a special effort to see the current leader Keenen Colley get knocked from his spot.
Here is what the top 5 looks like:
And to wrap up individual progress reports, here is what the shutout situation looks like. Still up for grabs, especially as Cowichan has an extra game in hand.
An intense weekend that saw 18 weeks (almost 5 months) of battling come to a close for some teams.
Still some things to sort out, and still the Jackson Cup to get started next week too.
Thanks for supporting grass roots soccer, looking forward to another week already.
Vince Greco
VISL Executive Director