One of the Cowichan Valley’s two entries in the Stephanie Shergold Cup tournament finished atop the field at the conclusion of pool play and will advance to the semifinals, while the other ended up in the middle of the pack and will have to sit by until the provincial championships start.
Jada Hill and Nicola Mawson each scored twice as Div. 2 Cowichan United clobbered Prospect Lake SC 5-0 at Layritz Park on Sunday to wrap up pool play with the only perfect record among 14 contenders. Two days earlier, the O30A Cowichan Cougars played to a 2-1 loss to Castaways United at PISE to finish in ninth place with a win and two losses. Only the top four teams advance to elimination play.
United started strong in their match, forcing Prospect back into their own end. Cowichan earned a penalty kick in the ninth minute after a Prospect defender blocked a cross with her hands, but the ensuing shot went wide. Cowichan kept up the pace, however, and in the 16th minute, Hill sent Mawson in on a breakaway, and Mawson put the ball into the corner of the net. A nearly identical play saw Mawson make it 2-0 just two minutes later.
The first half ended quietly, but Cowichan got going again in the second half, putting the match away in an 11-minute span. In the 67th minute, Norah O’Reilly-Ryan overlapped the midfielder, collected a pass and sent a 20-yard through-ball to Hill. Hill took the ball into the box, cut back across and placed the ball into the corner. Hill struck again at 74 minutes when she scored directly off a corner kick. Finally, four minutes after that, Jade Soluk took a feed from Sam Walker and fired the ball into the net from 15 yards out.
United will host the O30 Lakers in a semifinal showdown this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Sherman Road turf.
The O30A Cowichan Cougars were knocked out of cup play following their 2-1 loss to Castaways.
“This Castaways team showed up with all their players for the game and definitely wanted a win,” Cowichan coach Darian Achurch noted. “They are gearing up for provincials and needed a win.”
Castaways struck first with a shot that deflected past Cowichan goalkeeper Sara Tweten. The Cougars were able to tie the score midway through the second half after forward Stacey de Lusignan was taken down in the penalty box and scored on the ensuing penalty shot.
Both teams created more opportunities as they battled for the win. A Cowichan chance was cleared off the goal line at one end, and Tweten stopped a Castaways breakaway at the other, but the rebound was slotted into the net while the Cowichan keeper scrambled to recover.
“It was a great game,” Cowichan’s Melaina Patenaude remarked. “There were good chances at both ends and the teams were fairly evenly matched.”
The Cougars will wait to see if they qualify for the provincial tournament, which begins in April.
