First place is out of reach, so Comox Valley United is concentrating on securing second place in Div. 1 of the Vancouver Island Soccer League.
Cowichan clinched top spot Jan. 23 by defeating Bays United 2-1 and improving their record to 13-1-2 for 41 points.
With all teams having two regular season games left to play, Comox Valley (10-3-3) is in second place with 33 points with Saanich Fusion (10-4-2) is right behind them with 32 points.
United wraps up the regular season with games Jan. 30 at sixth-place Nanaimo United (7-8-1) and Feb. 6 at home against ninth-place Lakehill (3-10-3).
Saanich visits eighth-place Vic West (3-9-4) on Jan. 30 then finishes up at home against Cowichan (13-1-2) on Feb. 5.
Based on past results, the schedule would seem to favour United. They defeated Nanaimo 5-3 in their first meeting and knocked off Lakehill 2-1 in their first match-up.
Previously, Saanich beat Vic West 3-1 but were blanked 5-0 by Cowichan, so if the regular season champs aren’t resting their top players on Feb. 5, there could be some scoreboard watching going on that day.
However, Comox Valley is master of their own fate and can finish second by winning their final two league games.
Cup Competition
When all the regular season dust has settled, United will turn its attention to Jackson Cup play, where 19 teams (10 from Div. 1, nine from Div. 2) will meet in a single-knockout competition.
United is one of six teams in the Play-in Round, where they meet Div. 2 Castaways on Feb. 14 in Victoria. The winner advances to face Div. 1 Westcastle in Round 1 on Feb. 21.
Round 2 quarter-finals go March 4-6 and Round 3 semifinals March 18-20 with Round 4 (final) set for April 3 at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria.
THROW INS United drew 0-0 with Gorge on Jan. 23, with Stuart Ayres posting his third shutout of the season … Cowichan won the Garrison Cup as Div. 1 champs for the second straight year and in doing so earned a seeded berth and guaranteed home game in the BC Provincial Cup … their coach Glen Martin told the Cowichan Valley Citizen he intends to sit some of his players in their final two league games in order have them rested for cup competitions …
