Comox Valley United has won its first three games of the season, which gives the men’s team a share of the lead in Division 2 of the Vancouver Island Soccer League.
CVU defeated the Saanich Fusion Bandits 3-0 Sept. 14 at home. Dan Cato scored the first goal, converting a through ball by Gokhah Avcil. Captain Kyle Bate scored the second — a penalty shot drawn by Cato. The third goal was a free kick by Nick Marinus, shortly before the final whistle.
On Saturday, Sept. 21, United beat the Prospect Lake Lakers 2-1 in Victoria. The latter was a “scrappy game to start on a tricky surface,” player/coach Graeme McNeil said.
“Comox was trying to establish possession and control of the game but the bounces off the turf were unpredictable and causing issues. Prospect Lake were the aggressors and flying into every challenge looking for lucky bounces.”
As the team was fighting to withstand the initial pressure from the Lakers, CVU was fortunate to be first on the scoresheet with a superb strike from 25 yards out by Ty Hamp. Prospect Lake continued to press, and equalized a few minutes later with a smashing header off a set piece.
The half ended 1-1, with Prospect looking the more dangerous of the two sides.
“Comox made a couple strategic subs but decided to go into the second half with the same strategy, the only difference being to increase our level of intensity on 50/50 balls and win those challenges,” McNeil said.
The strategy seemed to work as Comox instantly took control of the game. The team dominated most of the second half but was unable to get the go-ahead goal until late in the game. Comox was pressuring deep in Prospect’s half when a loose ball arrived on Josh Fauchon’s foot on the left wing. Fauchon faked an inside cut towards goal and instead took the ball toward the online. He delivered a perfect pass across the face of the goal to the far post, where it met the foot of rookie fullback and game MVP Julius Weirsch, streaking in with a tidy finish. Comox was able to control the remaining five- to seven-minutes and take the valuable two extra points back home.
CVU went to 3-0-0 on the season with a 3-0 victory over Hellas FC on Sept. 28. Details of the game were not available at press time.
