What’s better than one championship? Two, of course.
The Victoria Highlanders have already assured themselves a date next year against a Canadian team in Major League Soccer, or a team in the Canadian Premier League such as Pacific FC, by winning the League1 BC regular-season championship. That earned for the Highlanders a berth into the 2024 Canadian Championship tournament for the Voyageurs Cup, this nation’s answer to the FA Cup in England.
The Highlanders go for the double today at 4 p.m. at B.C. Place in the League1 BC playoff final versus Vancouver Whitecaps Academy. Optik TV customers will be able to watch the game live on channel 1993. The game is also to be shown on YouTube.
“It’s been a good year and a win [today] would cap it on the most prominent playing stage we have in the province [B.C. Place],” said Highlanders head coach Steve Simonson.
The top-seed Highlanders (10-2-2 in the regular season) defeated fourth-seed Unity FC (5-4-5) of Langley 3-2 in the semifinals last weekend at Centennial Stadium.
Third-seed Whitecaps Academy (5-2-7) upset the second-seed TSS Rovers (9-3-2) of Burnaby 4-0 in the other semifinal game. That came as a bit of a shock considering the 2022 League1 BC champion Rovers made national headlines in this season’s Voyageurs Cup tournament by upsetting Winnipeg’s Valour FC 3-1 in the opening round to record the first victory ever by a B.C., Ontario or Quebec League1 team against a CPL team. TSS then gave Pacific FC all it could handle in the next round at Starlight Stadium before the Tridents of the CPL pulled it out with two late goals. PFC went on to lose in the semifinals to the Whitecaps of MLS.
The annual Canadian Championship features the three Canadian MLS teams, eight CPL teams and the champions of League1 BC, League1 Ontario and League1 Quebec. The Canadian Championship winner hoists the Voyageurs Cup and earns a berth in the following year’s CONCACAF Champions League.
Simonson isn’t surprised by the Whitecaps Academy semifinal ascension over TSS: “They are the academy team of an MLS franchise and are the pick of the litter of U-19 players in the province and are obviously talented and very well coached. They get to see MLS players on a regular basis training alongside.”
Simonson also coaches the University of Northern B.C. Timberwolves in the Canada West and those conference connections have been critical to the Highlanders’ success in recruiting players such as David Schaefer from Mount Royal University and UNBC star and Victoria product Michael Henman, the 2022 Canada West MVP who set the conference scoring record last season.
The Highlanders held the regular-season edge with a 1-0 victory over Whitecaps Academy at Centennial Stadium with the other game a 1-1 draw on the Lower Mainland.
“The key in the final for us is to keep our defensive structure, which is our strength,” said Simonson.
“Offensively, we buried our chances in coming through some nervy moments [3-2 victories over TSS in the deciding final regular-season game and over Unity in the semifinals] against the two highest-scoring teams in the league.”
It’s been a banner year for Island soccer with the Highlanders, PFC and Victoria United, the latter the champions of the Pacific Coast League.
“It’s been a great year for Island soccer with PFC at or near the top of the CPL table while we won the League1 regular season and are playing in the playoff final and Victoria United winning the Pacific Coast League championship,” said Simonson. “The different layers are very important.”
PFC head coach James Merriman concurred: “Football is never a straight path and there’s never been a better time as now for young players in Canada to develop their potential at different levels.”
Meanwhile, the League1 BC women’s final today at 1 p.m. at B.C. Place features Unity FC versus Whitecaps Academy.
Nanaimo Harbourside FC also fields men’s and women’s teams in League1 BC.
