Another game, another late goal to keep the Victoria Highlanders undefeated with two wins and two draws in the Pacific Coast Soccer League.
Patrick Nelson scored at 87 minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw against FC Tigers of Vancouver on Sunday afternoon at Royal Athletic Park. Nelson slammed home a corner kick from Kieran Large that was bobbled by the Tigers goalkeeper.
That solidified Nelson’s man-of-the-match credentials. Nelson was also involved in the Highlanders’ first goal Sunday when his cross was headed in by Cooper Barry as two players from Jackson Cup-champion FC Cowichan connected.
The Highlanders also needed late goals in a 2-2 draw against Kamloops and a 2-1 victory over Abbotsford. They came from Derek deGroot and Alex Redpath, respectively, on the opening weekend of the season.
The only Victoria game so far that didn’t need late heroics was Saturday’s relatively comfortable 4-1 victory over the Tim Hortons Pinnacles from Penticton.
“We have 10 goals in four outings, so I really like our attacking side of the game,” said Highlanders head coach Dave Dew.
“But we’re still making [defensive] errors.”
Yet, Dew was satisfied with Sunday’s draw against a tricky opponent.
“This [Tigers] team plays together year-round in the Vancouver Metro League and Richmond League and has some very good players. We’re still developing as a team [that gets together only for the summer],” noted Dew.
The Highlanders close out a five-game homestand to start the season next Sunday at 2 p.m. against Vancouver United at Royal Athletic Park.
“We want to maximize points, for sure, before we head on the road,” said Dew.
Meanwhile, the Mid Island Mariners are off to a strong start in the PCSL at 2-0 with eight goals scored and three allowed. The summer side ties nicely into the Vancouver Island University Mariners powerhouse, which won the Canadian colleges national championship in 2010, placed third in 2011, and was national runner-up in 2012, 2014 and again this year.
Jordan de Graaf of Mid Island leads the league in goals with three, followed by Craig Gorman of the Highlanders and Isaac Koch and Mitchell Popadynetz of the Pinnacles with two each.
