After the Vancouver Island Soccer League’s heyday of producing Canada-capped players in the 1980s, Victoria United of the Pacific Coast Soccer League became the highest calibre of the sport played locally as it brought together top VISL players and Island collegians on a representative summer soccer squad.
That was then topped by the Victoria Highlanders of the elite-amateur Premier Development League (now United Soccer League 2).
Now the PCSL has fallen to the third tier locally and it’s even harder to find attention when you have a professional Canadian Premier League club (Pacific FC) and USL 2 team (Highlanders) ahead of you in the same market.
But there remains an Island presence in the PCSL — with Victoria Highlanders 2 and Mid Island Mariners — and don’t discount the talent on display.
“We have players on our team who we believe are borderline CPL pros such as Ryan Ashlee, Cam Hundal and Chris Merriman,” said Highlanders 2 head coach Nico Craveiro.
“We have guys who are aspiring to play at a higher level.”
That quality was in evidence this season as Highlanders 2 went 9-2-3 in the PCSL and captured the George Cambidge Memorial League Cup as regular-season champions for the first time since 2008 when Victoria United won its second of back-to-back titles.
That gave Highlanders 2 the right to host the PCSL Sheila Anderson Memorial Cup playoff tournament at Centennial Stadium, with the semifinals today as the second-place FC Tigers of Vancouver play third-place Surrey United at 2:30 p.m. and Highlanders 2 meet fourth-place Okanagan FC at 4:30 p.m. The championship game is Sunday at 1:30 p.m., also at Centennial Stadium.
“You can’t be too young or too old as a team. We have a good mix of younger and older players,” said Craveiro.
The latter are represented by 32-year-old VISL veteran Paddy Nelson, who scored 10 goals this season for Highlanders 2 to win the PCSL Golden Boot, to add to his almost-annual VISL Golden Boots.
The more youthful brigade includes players such as Ian Whibley, heading into this third season for the University of Victoria Vikes, and touted Reynolds Secondary graduate and incoming Vikes freshman Javier Sagaste, who last year was part of the Generation Adidas International Select program that took place at the Real Madrid complex in Spain.
“Whibley was fourth in PCSL goals with seven, while Sagaste is going to be a five-year starter at UVic,” said Craveiro.
The Highlanders’ high-octane offence scored 40 goals in 14 games, behind only the Tigers’ 41. Joining Highlanders 2 teammates Nelson and Whibley in the PCSL top 10 for goals was Aboubacar Cisse with four. Ashlee had three goals.
The Highlanders 2 back end was as good as the front side, maybe better, in allowing a league-lowest 13 goals in 14 games.
Craveiro cited the standout play of defender Merriman: “Chris was tremendous on a back line that was mature and composed and in which we took a great deal of pride.”
The quest now is the season and playoff double.
“The boys are buzzing and want to add to their league regular-season win,” said Craveiro, who played for the old championship United teams in the PCSL.
“We are very excited to be able to head into the playoffs knowing we are the home team. We have to make sure we have the right mind set and that we aren’t getting too comfortable. We just need to play the way we know we can, and take the game to the other teams, and we will be successful.”
CORNER KICKS: The Pacific Elite Soccer Institute, operated by Thomas Niendorf, will integrate with the Highlanders to become the Highlanders FC Residency Program. The newly-created entity will operate on the West Shore under Niendorf, who is also head coach of the USL 2 Highlanders. It will feature a Highlanders Residency U-19 team in the VISL and a travelling U-21 team.
