Whether it’s the big-league FA Cup or the Vancouver Island Soccer League’s Jackson Cup, it’s the luck of the random draw that makes any soccer Cup competition so unpredictable.
Westcastle United of the VISL Div. 1 will meet a VISL Div. 2 squad for the second time in the Jackson Cup tournament when it faces Powell River Div. 2 in a quarter-final matchup tonight at 8 at Westhills Stadium.
Fourth-ranked Westcastle — which is currently second in the VISL Div. 1 table at 10-4-2 under head coach Thomas Niendorf, assistant coaches Scott Strickland and Vikram Virk and general manager Steve Hodges — opened the Jackson Cup competition with a 9-0 drubbing of No. 18-seed Nanaimo Div. 2 in the Sweet Sixteen. Nanaimo Div. 2 had upset No. 9 Fernwood of Div. 1 by a 4-3 margin in the play-in round.
“We have quality young players who work very hard,” said Westcastle GM Hodges, whose club is affiliated with Pacific Soccer Institute.
“We have only one older player. The rest are 16- to 19-year-old players who have young legs and can really move the ball quickly.”
The No. 11 Powell River team advanced to its quarter-final matchup against Westcastle with a 3-0 blanking of No. 13-Juan de Fuca in an all-Div. 2 matchup in the Sweet Sixteen.
The other quarter-final on that side of the draw features No. 10-seed Comox Valley from Div. 1 meeting No. 17 Gorge FC from Div. 2 this evening at 6 at Hampton Park. Gorge FC-2 has seen nothing but fellow Div. 2 opponents on its run, beating No. 20 Bays United 3-0 in the play-in round and No. 14-Lakehill 3-0 in the Sweet Sixteen.
Tonight makes it back-to-back at Hampton Park. Defending-champion Gorge FC of Div. 1 was taking on top-ranked Lakehill in a marquee matchup of the quarter-final round that was in progress at press time on Friday night. Although leading the table when the draw was made in January, Lakehill has since fallen into a tie for fourth place at 9-6-1, highlighting why rankings don’t always matchup with the current standings as knockout-Cup competitions progress through the year.
The other quarter-final on that side of the draw was also an all Div. 1-affair on Friday night with No. 6 Bays United knocking off third-ranked Cowichan FC 4-2 at the Oak Bay High School turf field.
Cowichan FC — which has clinched the VISL Div. 1 regular-season championship at 11-1-4 — was looking for a return to form that saw it make eight Jackson Cup championship-game appearances in nine years up to 2017, with six Cup titles in that span.
The 2019 Jackson Cup semifinals will be played next weekend. The 104th Jackson Cup championship final is scheduled for March 31 at 2:30 p.m. at Royal Athletic Park.
Gorge FC defeated Lakehill 3-2 in the 2018 Jackson Cup final to win the club’s first Cup championship since Gorge’s run of six consecutive titles ended in 2010. Lakehill was denied its first-ever Jackson Cup championship.
