The Victoria Highlanders are one win away from the heady proposition of potentially playing the Vancouver Whitecaps, CF Montreal or Toronto FC of Major League soccer, or in an Island derby match-up against Pacific FC of the Canadian Premier League.
The 2023 regular-season champion of League1 sa国际传媒 will earn a berth in the 2024 Canadian Championship tournament for the Voyageurs Cup, this nation’s answer to the FA Cup in England.
The League1 sa国际传媒 regular-season championship will be decided this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. when the Highlanders play the TSS Rovers of Burnaby. Both teams are on 29 points atop the table at 9-2-2. TSS leads in the goal-differential tiebreaker 23-10, however, so the Highlanders must win in order to claim the league crown and Canadian Championship berth next year that goes with it. A win or draw will do it for the Rovers.
The annual Canadian Championship features the three Canadian MLS teams, eight CPL teams and the champions of League1 sa国际传媒, League1 Ontario and League1 Quebec. The Canadian Championship winner hoists the Voyageurs Cup and earns a berth in the following year’s CONCACAF Champions League.
“We’ve had a good season and worked hard to be where we are and now have a chance to gain access to a next-level tournament next year,” said Highlanders head coach Steve Simonson.
“But TSS is a very good team and we just have to let the moment disappear and go out and play like it’s another game.”
The 2022 League1 sa国际传媒-champion Rovers gave a good account of themselves and made national headlines in this season’s Voyageurs Cup playdowns by upsetting Winnipeg’s Valour FC 3-1 in the opening round to record the first victory ever by a sa国际传媒, Ontario or Quebec League1 team against a CPL team. TSS then gave Pacific FC all it could handle in the next round at Starlight Stadium before the Tridents of the CPL pulled it out with two goals late in the second half.
“The jump to pro soccer is very steep, and we in League1 are solidifying our notch one level below the CPL, and as an important stepping stone and important piece of soccer across the country,” said Simonson.
PFC assistant coach Armando Sá, who was capped six times for Mozambique and played pro for 16 seasons with Benfica, Villareal, Espanyol, Rio Ave, Braga and Leeds United, has been around and likes what he sees in the evolving Canadian system from the League1’s to CPL.
“Football in sa国际传媒 is in a good moment,” said Sá.
“The pathway is being solidly built. There is a lot of talent here. All it needed was a chance.”
That chance comes this afternoon for the Highlanders.
Simonson also coaches the University of Northern sa国际传媒 Timberwolves in the sa国际传媒 West conference and that connection has been key to the Highlanders’ success. Timberwolves star and Victoria product Michael Henman, the 2022 sa国际传媒 West MVP who set the conference scoring record last season with 19 goals, leads the Highlanders with six goals this League 1 season.
“Hopefully someday, someone gives him a look [at the pro level],” said Simonson.
League1 sa国际传媒 features eight teams, including the Highlanders and seventh-place Harbourside FC of Nanaimo (1-8-4 in wins-losses-draws). The top-four team are advancing to the playoff tournament next month — Highlanders, TSS, third-place Vancouver Whitecaps Academy (5-2-6) and fourth-place Unity FC (5-4-5) of Langley — with the final to be played Aug. 5 at sa国际传媒 Place Stadium. The Highlanders are guaranteed to host a semifinal game July 29.
Meanwhile, the Highlanders are in seventh place in the women’s League1 sa国际传媒 table at 3-6-4 and conclude their season today at 1 p.m. against TSS at Centennial Stadium.
Harbourside is 5-6-2 and in fifth place with a chance to place in the top four and make the women’s playoff round pending results over the final regular-season weekend. Vancouver Whitecaps Academy (10-2-1) has captured the league regular-season championship and is advancing to the female playoffs along with second-place Nautsa’Mawt (9-3-2) and third-place Unity FC (7-4-3). The fourth-place TSS Rovers (5-5-3) have one more point than Harbourside and can get in with a win over the Highlanders today, so Harbourside will be looking for a little help from their Island rivals against TSS.
The women’s post-season final will also be played at sa国际传媒 Place on Aug. 5.
