Soccer season turned the corner towards provincials last weekend with the final round of Terry Price Cup play in the Lower Island Women’s Soccer Association.
The Terry Price Cup is the playoff trophy reserved for premier division clubs in the LIWSA.
Terry Price semifinals are all but set for Feb. 27, when Gorge FC hosts Vic West while Nanaimo FC will host Prospect Lake. Vic West and Gordon Head have yet to play their final Terry Price game, though Gordon Head would need to move a small mountain to make up a nine goal deferential if the squad hopes to take Vic West’s spot in the semi.
The final round of Terry Price pool play ended on Sunday with Vic West defeating Lakehill 3-1, Gorge beating Prospect Lake 4-1, Castaways FC topping the Vic A’s 3-0 and Nanaimo routing Gordon Head 6-0.
A change in the seeding for A cup provincials this year means the winner of the Terry Price Cup will take the second of five LIWSA seeds in the upcoming 12 team provincial draw. The other seven seeds come from the mainland’s Metro Women’s Soccer league. The provincial cup format also moves to single game knockout.
As the premier league champions, Gorge automatically qualify as LIWSA’s top seed in the provincial draw. If Gorge wins the Terry Price Cup, however, the club will have its choice of entering provincials as the first or second seed, which could make a great difference in terms of who they play and what route they’d take should they advance, said LIWSA president Casey Tepper.
Subsequent provincial seeding goes to the second, third and fourth teams in the season standings, meaning Vic West, Nanaimo and Prospect Lake are also going to provincials. Because Terry Price semifinalists are also the top four from the division standings, fifth-place Castaways FC could earn a spot at provincials as well.
The Terry Price final is March 6.
This weekend’s schedule is full of Doug Day Cup games, contested between LIWSA divisions one and two.
Doug Day weekend schedule
Feb. 19, 6 p.m., D1 Prospect Lake vs. D3A Cowichan at Layritz Park.
Feb. 20, 10 a.m., D1 Gordon Head Blue vs. D2 Vic West FC at Tyndall Field.
Feb. 20, 12 p.m., D1 Gorge FC vs. D1 Vic West FC at Hampton Park; D1 Lakehill Reds vs. D1 Sooke Pumas, Braefoot Park; D1 Castaways at D1 Nanaimo; D2 Castaways at D1 Juan de Fuca; D1 Bays United FC vs. D2 Gordon Head at Windsor Park.
