With the first-ever winter World Cup now done with, soccer reverts to the more traditional club cup competitions associated with this time of year. They range from the famous, such as the FA Cup in England and Copa del Rey in Spain, to the myriad other association tournaments from top pro level down to amateur leagues around the world.
The Vancouver Island Soccer League’s Jackson Cup has been competed for since 1915 with the 2023 draw held this week at the Strathcona Hotel for the 20 VISL teams in Div. 1 and Div 2.
“The Jackson Cup final is our feature game of the year. The players get the history of the Cup and that it’s been around for over 100 years and they know it’s something special,” said VISL executive-director Vince Greco.
Soccer is more organic than most sports — you would never see an NHL team face-off against AHL/ECHL clubs — but the Canadian Championship features MLS, CPL and League1 clubs all in one mix for the Voyageurs Cup. A large part of the appeal of cup tournaments is the chance to see unheralded clubs from lower leagues play the big-name clubs of the sport. The occasional giant-killing upsets have become part of soccer lore.
Like many such competitions, the Jackson Cup draw is random, meaning powerhouses could meet early and lower seeds get better draws. Using an old line from Laugh-In, it’s the fickle finger of fate. This year it has led to No. 14-seed Saltspring Island drawing into the first round to await a play-in game Feb. 3-5 between No. 3 Gorge FC and No. 6 Bays United.
The No. 18-seed Gorge FC of Div. 2 has also drawn into the first round Feb. 10-12 while No. 2 seed Vic West must compete in a play-in game against No. 20 Juan de Fuca Hellas just to get into that bracket to play Gorge Div. 2. The No. 4 Highlanders have also been drawn to go through the play-in route and play No. 19 Easy Touch for the right to get into the first round and face No. 7 and two-time defending champion Nanaimo United. The other side of that bracket has No. 12 Lakehill Div. 2 meeting No. 13 Gorge United Div. 2, meaning one of those lower seeds is guaranteed to play a quarter-final against the Highlanders or Nanaimo United.
“There are always calls to seed the Jackson Cup,” said Greco.
The VISL has always resisted that.
“That is the beauty of it. Teams still have to win the games whenever they are. This year, the random draw has yielded a decent balance with the potential of the big boys making it to semifinals if things go according to rankings in the brackets,” noted Greco.
“There are going to be surprises, however, like there always are.”
Where-in rests the unique appeal of cup play.
Top-seed Lakehill, drawn in the first round against No. 15 Prospect Lake Div. 2, is 12-2 as it looks for a third-consecutive VISL Div. 1 regular-season title with an explosive roster featuring the top five scorers in the league with veteran sniper Paddy Nelson on 17 goals, former pro Blair Sturrock with 13, former University of Victoria Vikes striker Craig Gorman with 10 and Jack Hill and former Vikes star Isaac Koch with five goals each.
Lakehill will try to match its recent regular-season prowess with success in the Jackson Cup and Province Cup (B.C. championship tournament in the spring) that has so far eluded the club. Lakehill has never won either cup.
“We have a strong team with a good cast of players, including a couple of former pros and some former UVic stars,” said Lakehill head coach Mark Bhopal.
“But we have not been successful in the Jackson Cup. The brand of play is completely different in single-loss knockout Cup play than in the regular season. You need a healthy lineup and sometimes luck in games that are 1-0 and often go to overtime or shootout.”
Two-time defending Jackson Cup-champion Nanaimo United has best navigated that tricky equation the last two years. Lakehill will try again. The 2023 Jackson Cup play-in round is Feb. 3-5, opening round Feb. 10-12, quarter-finals Feb. 24-26, semifinals March 10-12 and final March 25 at Starlight Stadium.
CORNER KICKS: The VISL all-stars defeated the Fraser Valley all-stars on penalty kicks this month in Langley in the annual game played between the associations. Regulation time concluded 1-1 with the VISL winning in the ninth round of kicks.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
