As a result, there will be a new champion this year in the Jackson Cup for annual playdown supremacy of the men鈥檚 Vancouver Island Soccer League for Division 1 and 2 clubs.
The random draw put the top-two teams, Bays United (15-1 in regular season) and defending champion Cowichan FC (13-1-3), on a rare opening-game collision course.
Bays prevailed 1-0 over the weekend at Finlayson pitch. Cowichan held runaway scoring-leader Jordie Hughes, who has 28 goals, in check but could not account for former UVic Vikes star Jodie Oberg, whose late goal at 82 minutes won it. Oberg wasn鈥檛 even supposed to play, but got into the game because of an injury during warm-up to regular striker Kellen Holden. Midfielder Greg Fiddick of Bays was named man of the match, while goalkeeper Dominic Butcher recorded the clean sheet.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a crazy, random draw, but it鈥檚 one of the things I love about this sport and I wouldn鈥檛 change it to a seeded draw for anything,鈥� said Bays head coach Rich Fast, a proponent of soccer鈥檚 traditional way of drawing for Cup play, from the FA Cup on down.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to face the top teams at some point down the road.鈥�
Cowichan defeated Bays 2-1 in last year鈥檚 Cup final.
鈥淭his could have been the potential Cup final [again],鈥� acknowledged VISL executive president Vince Greco, about the vagaries of the draw.
The 2013 marquee opener between Bays and Cowichan wasn鈥檛 even officially a first-round game, but a play-in fixture to get to even numbers in the 19-team Cup tournament.
So technically, the holders Cowichan didn鈥檛 even make it to the main draw.
The Jackson Cup, in competition since 1914, has been won by World Cup players George Pakos and Jamie Lowery and other highly-capped Canadian national team players such as Bob Bolitho and Brian Robinson. But in this long history, only a few times has the defending champion been turfed so early.
Greco said he can鈥檛 recall the last time the No. 1 and No. 2 teams have met in the first round.
鈥淲e beat a very good Cowichan team, that is very tough at the back led by [former pro] Tyler Hughes and which has allowed only eight goals this season,鈥� said Bays coach Fast.
Bays aren鈥檛 too shabby on defence, either.
鈥淥ur back line played very well and our midfielders were quite active,鈥� said Bays goalkeeper Butcher, acquired from UVic Alumni in January.
鈥淸Midfielder Greg] Fiddick must have run 10 kilometres on one of the largest pitches [Finlayson] in sa国际传媒鈥�
Bays United advances to meet Division 1 ninth-place Prospect Lake on Friday at 7 p.m. at Westhills Stadium in Langford.
That wasn鈥檛 the only Jackson Cup play-in fireworks from the weekend, as Division 1 last-place Saltspring Island (1-12-3) shocked Division 1 third-place Saanich Fusion (13-1-2) by a 3-2 scoreline on penalty kicks in one of the most stunning Cup upsets in recent years. The Saltspring Islanders advance to host Lakehill United of Division 2 in a first-round fixture on Saturday.
In other play-in games from the weekend, Gorge Division 1 defeated Saanich Fusion of Division 2 by a 3-2 count, while Vic West, reaching for the glory days of the past, blanked Castaways 3-0 in an all-Division 1 matchup.
First-round games this week include all-Division 2 matchups between Gorge and the Gordon Head Blazers on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Tyndall and between Nanaimo United and Cowichan United on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merle Logan field; Division 1 fourth-place Nanaimo against Division 2 last-place Powell River on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Timberland Park; Gorge of Division 1 against Lake Hill Reds Division 2 on Friday at 7 p.m. at Hampton Park; and Division 1 seventh-place Sooke against Vic West Wolves Division 2 on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Finlayson.
The 2013 Jackson Cup final is March 24 at Royal Athletic Park.
The other VISL Cup competitions, also now underway, are the George Pearkes Challenge Cup for Division 3-4 teams, the Tony Grover Over-35 Cup and George Smith Under-21 Cup.
