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Nanaimo United ends Cowichan’s Jackson Cup run

Times Colonist Nanaimo United busted the brackets to capture its first Jackson Cup championship since 1999.
Times Colonist

Nanaimo United busted the brackets to capture its first Jackson Cup championship since 1999.

The fourth seeds upended top-seed Cowichan FC 2-1 in extra time Sunday at Royal Athletic Park in the 102nd Jackson Cup final for Vancouver Island Soccer League knockout supremacy.

Niko Cristante fired the winning goal for Nanaimo at 110 minutes as Cowichan FC was down to 10 men at 75 minutes because of two yellow cards. Regulation time ended deadlocked 1-1 on goals at 14 minutes by Nanaimo’s Darragh Fitzgerald, on a header, and Cowichan’s dramatic late equalizer through Joel Harry at 90 minutes.

Cowichan FC was making its seventh Jackson Cup championship game appearance in the past eight years and was after its fifth Cup title in that span.

Cowichan FC, Nanaimo United, Vic West and Bays United are the VISL representatives into the upcoming Province Cup playdowns.

Meanwhile, the Cowichan 49ers beat Vic West 2-1 in extra time Sunday at Royal Athletic in the Tony Grover Cup masters final.

Mid-Isle teams won both the VISL George Smith Cup U-21 title with a 6-1 victory Saturday over Juan de Fuca and the VISL Div. 4-5 George Pearkes Cup with a 1-0 win over Gorge United.

For the first time in VISL history, the Jackson, Grover, Smith and Pearkes cups were swept by teams from north of the Malahat.

In the Terry Price Cup Lower Island Women’s Soccer final Sunday, Prospect Lake blanked Victoria Athletic Association 1-0 at Tyndall Park.