The 2019 Jackson Cup champion Westcastle United will meet the Port Moody Gunners on the road in the Fraser Valley in the first round of the Province Cup men’s B.C. soccer championship tournament.
All first-round Province Cup fixtures will be played April 13-14.
Westcastle United defeated Bays United 3-1 last weekend in the Vancouver Island Soccer League Jackson Cup final at Royal Athletic Park.
Bays United was drawn into an all-Island opening-round Province Cup matchup against VISL regular-season champion Cowichan FC at Sherman Road in Duncan.
VISL third-place Lakehill FC will meet Coastal FC of the Fraser Valley at Braefoot Park, with the winner of that game advancing to meet the winner of the Bays United-Cowichan FC game in the second round.
The Mid-Island Mariners were the fifth VISL team to earn a Province Cup berth and will meet CCB LFC United from the Metro Vancouver Soccer League in the first round in Ladysmith. The winner of that game will meet the winner of the Westcastle United-Port Moody game in the second round as the random selection placed all five VISL teams on the same side of the draw.
The draw was held Monday night at the Strathcona Hotel. The Province Cup runs through the championship weekend May 11-12 at Merle Logan Turf Fields in Nanaimo.
The BCT Rovers Tigers from Surrey are the defending B.C. men’s champions after lifting their first Province Cup title in 2018 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby with three unanswered goals in a 5-2 overtime victory against Langley United.
The BCT Rovers Tigers begin defence of their crown in the opening round this year against fellow Metro Vancouver League team West Van FC. The 2018 runners-up Langley United open this year against Croatia SC in the 16-team provincial competition.
The VISL is looking for its first Province Cup champion since Gorge FC won four B.C. titles between 2001 and 2010.
