The top Island senior girls soccer teams will vie for positions to provincials on a pair of fronts on Monday and Tuesday.
Triple-A Islands is down to just a six-team affair with host Dover Bay welcoming Oak Bay, Reynolds, Stelly鈥檚, Claremont and Cowichan to the competition, although opening games will be played elsewhere.
Stelly鈥檚 travels to the Cowichan Sportsplex at 10 a.m. on Monday, while Victoria-based teams Reynolds and Claremont meet at the same time at Braefoot Park.
The Stelly鈥檚/Cowichan victor will face Oak Bay in one semi-final and the Reynolds/Claremont winner advances to face Dover Bay in the other.
Those games are scheduled for 11 a.m. at McGirr fields in Nanaimo. The Island championship will follow at 4 p.m., with both finalists advancing to provincials at South Delta on June 2-4.
The Oak Bay Breakers are seeded No. 1 in the province, but coach Brent Garraway puts no stock in those seedings and takes nothing for granted.
鈥淚f we鈥檙e No. 1 in June, when we have a chance to possibly raise a banner, then it would mean something. Right now it鈥檚 just a creative number that someone in Vancouver wants to give. We want to earn that by winning some titles, not some committee giving us a number,鈥� an always honest Garraway said. He knows it will not be easy.
鈥淥n any given day at this level, as Stelly鈥檚 proved against us [in the Ryan Cup semifinal], you just never know. There are only two berths to provincials and this is always a scary tournament,鈥� he said of Islands.
Oak Bay downed Stelly鈥檚 by a tight 1-0 margin in that game and then went on to use two goals from Janessa Lane to down a scrappy St. Michaels University School in the Ryan Cup final last week.
鈥淭he girls have constantly been building. I thought we played our best game of the year against GNS [in the Ryan Cup quarter-finals, a 6-0 win], then we had a little step backwards against Stelly鈥檚. But it鈥檚 a good lesson for us and it will only help us in the long run.鈥�
Stelly鈥檚 coach Jackie Cunningham, who also doubles as the Lower Island league commissioner, has experienced a frustrating season, with numerous injuries.
鈥淲e have yet to play with a full team this season, but we鈥檙e doing our best,鈥� said Cunningham, who has missed centre back Mara McCleary, changing the dynamics for the Stingers, who will have to try and go through Oak Bay once again, should they win their opening game on Monday.
鈥淔ingers crossed that we get all our players back and we鈥檒l do our best,鈥� Cunningham said.
SMUS will be the scene for the Island double-A championship, which includes eight teams with Ladysmith, Royal Bay, Brentwood and Brooks in Pool A and SMUS, Mark Isfeld, Carihi and the winner of the Parklands vs. Nanaimo District challenge game in Pool B.
Ladysmith is the top seed from the North and SMUS gets that nod in the South. Play begins Monday at 10 a.m. and follows with kick-offs at 11:30 a.m., 1 and 2:30 p.m. It continues Tuesday with 9:30 and 11 a.m. slots and the championship game has the two pool winners meeting at 3:30 p.m., all at SMUS.
鈥淭here are some strong teams out of the North, for sure, so it won鈥檛 be an easy tournament,鈥� said SMUS Blue Jags coach Nikki Kaufmann, whose team has experienced a wonderful season so far, including that tight 2-1 loss to triple-A Oak Bay in that Ryan Cup final.
鈥淭hat was another challenge for us. It鈥檚 good preparation for us moving forward. It鈥檚 nice to play good teams and they鈥檙e another very good team,鈥� Kaufmann said of facing the likes of Oak Bay as preparation. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to play at home and hopefully we use that advantage,鈥� Kaufmann added.
Double-A provincials are set for Carihi on June 2-4.
