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Island’s top women’s soccer teams begin run at Province Cup

The women’s Province Cup tournament begins today, and every team in the Premier A Cup mix will be trying to figure out how to get through the Surrey United roadblock.

The women’s Province Cup tournament begins today, and every team in the Premier A Cup mix will be trying to figure out how to get through the Surrey United roadblock.

Surrey has won the title for 10 straight years, and for the last two, one of their victims has been Castaways of the Lower Island Women’s Soccer Association. Castaways are at Minoru Oval in Richmond today for a preliminary match against Metro League team Richmond FC, while the Victoria Athletics meet Vancouver’s Coastal FC at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence on Sunday, starting at 4 p.m.

LIWSA league and Terry Price Cup winner Prospect Lake, as well as runner-up Vic West, both have byes into the quarter-finals, April 26 and 27.

“Every year we somehow end up on the same side of the draw as Surrey, and every year we’ve been knocked out by Surrey,” Castaways coach Natalie Work said about the last two championship losses to the United powerhouse, which features several former national team players and Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Castaways bench will be a little lean, as two players are writing exams, but they still have the leadership of team captains Rachel Davidson and Leah Stott.

“Rachel is a centre defender and she’s absolutely solid,” Work said. “Leah is a centre midfielder and she’s our fittest, most experienced, and most vocal player.”

For the Victoria Athletics, just making it to the Province Cup the last couple of years is quite an accomplishment for a former bottom-dweller.

Coach Dan Bolton said the difference has been adding some key players.

“I think we have a good team, well-balanced, with not a lot of superstars,” Bolton said.

The Cup semifinals are on May 3 and 4, followed by the finals on May 11.

sepp@timescolonist

Twitter.com/tc_vicsports