The Cowichan 49ers are another step closer to claiming their fourth consecutive Tony Grover Cup championship.
The Niners sailed through the quarter-finals with a 4-0 win over Vic West 45s at the Sherman Road turf on Saturday night, and are set for a semifinal matchup in two weeks.
The Vic West team showed up ready to play, but Cowichan took control and dominated the majority of the game. Matt Arnett opened the scoring with a nice finish at 30 minutes, Stu Barker slotted one eight minutes after that, and Ryan Fusick’s play led to an own goal against Vic West at 42 minutes.
The 49ers brought in several subs from their long bench in the second half, including Jordan Clarke, who scored the fourth goal.
Chad Bastian stepped in between the pipes and notched the shutout after back-to-back clean sheets from Jeff Mann in the first two cup games.
Cowichan’s next cup game is set for March 13 at 11 a.m. against the Cordova Bay Bobcats.
“We have tied them 2-2 [in November] and beat them 4-1 [in February],” 49ers player/manager Neall Rowlings observed. “However the games are always close ones.”
The other semifinal will see masters A league champs UVic Alumni take on fourth-place Castaways Juniors.
The 49ers will play their last league game at home this Saturday at 6 p.m., hosting Juan de Fuca Ghostfinger Alliance, with not much to gain or lose for either team as the 49ers have clinched second place and JDF is a lock for relegation.
The Cowichan Steelheads will also wrap up league play this Saturday at 8 p.m. against a Gorge FC team that will need to win its last two games to move up from fifth place.
