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Portland Timbers U-23 have the MLS affiliation and parent pro club. But the Victoria Highlanders have the inside track to first place.
Highlanders head coach Steve Simonson acknowledged that the three MLS-affiliate teams in the Northwest Division of the United Soccer League Premier Development League have the 鈥渁bilities and resources to attract quality players.鈥�
鈥淏ut we have a good team, too,鈥� he said.
That was proven Sunday afternoon in Portland as the first-place Highlanders (8-2-1) defeated the second-place Timbers U-23 (6-3-2) by a 2-0 clean sheet before 1,054 fans to secure a playoff berth.
Former Aston Villa pro Blair Sturrock at 17 minutes and CIS all-star Brett Levis at 87 minutes provided the scoring as Elliot Mitrou recorded the shutout.
The Highlanders opened a six-point gap on Portland in the standings. Timbers U-23 in turn hold a three-point advantage on the third-place Vancouver Whitecaps U-23.
The top-three make the playoffs, with the first-place team earning a bye while No. 2 hosts No. 3 in a semifinal. The winner of the semifinal travels to play the top seed in the final.
鈥淭he fewer games you need to play in a [single-loss elimination playoff format], obviously, the better,鈥� Simonson said.
鈥淥ur goal this season was to make the playoffs. We have done that. Now we will focus on first place, which would be fantastic. We fully deserve to be where we are in the standings.鈥�
Victoria was playing its second game in three days, following Friday night鈥檚 1-1 tie in Vancouver against Whitecaps U-23, while Portland played its third game in as many days.
鈥淭he Whitecaps game was very difficult,鈥� Simonson said.
鈥淲e went into Portland a bit fatigued against another highly skilled team. And it was very hot. We set up to play the break. We defended hard and took possession.鈥�
The Highlanders play Victoria United of the Pacific Coast League in their annual friendly Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Royal Athletic Park before returning to league play Saturday against the Washington Crossfire in Redmond and Sunday in Seattle against Sounders U-23.
CORNER KICKS: The Peninsula Co-op Highlanders won their seventh consecutive Pacific Coast League women鈥檚 game 鈥� outscoring their opponents 32-6 in that stretch 鈥� with a 3-2 victory Sunday in Vancouver over TSS Academy on Shannon Elder鈥檚 diving header for the winner. Second-place Victoria (8-1-2) clinched a playoff berth and is 10 points behind the leading Vancouver Whitecaps (12-2).
