Victoria Highlanders FC severed ties to the United Soccer League鈥檚 W-League and will focus its top tier of women鈥檚 play in the Pacific Coast Soccer League for the 2013 campaign.
鈥淲e鈥檙e pleased with [the decision],鈥� Mark deFrias, general manager of all Highlanders鈥� programs confirmed on Thursday afternoon. 鈥淲e know we can continue to help these young women move on to the NCAA or CIS teams and hopefully a few of them will make it onto the W-League programs or the new professional league.鈥�
A new eight-team professional North American circuit has forced changes in the landscape of women鈥檚 soccer. Earlier this month, the Vancouver Whitecaps announced they were withdrawing from the W-League in 2013.
The Highlanders have essentially followed suit and will keep their rivalry with the Whitecaps intact in the PCSL.
鈥淥n the men鈥檚 side of the house we continue to operate the [Premier Development League] Under-23 team and I think it makes a lot of sense to have the women鈥檚 program not to be at the top level of women鈥檚 soccer in North America. It didn鈥檛 make sense for us both economically and on a developmental standpoint.
鈥淪o this decision will help on both those fronts. More importantly, it will allow us to continue to work on the women鈥檚 game here in Victoria.
鈥淲e鈥檒l still have that top tier for women鈥檚 football here in Victoria and we鈥檒l still be able to move youth up to the top levels and help them on to whatever their career aspirations might be.鈥�
Members of last year鈥檚 Peninsula Co-op club will have to decide individually whether to return for the 2013 campaign under coach Dave Dew.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see them not wanting to participate. The Pacific Coast League is a very strong league for the girls to play in. We see this as an opportunity to continue to develop athletes,鈥� said deFrias.
The team will begin play in the 12-team league 鈥� which includes teams from Vancouver, Coquitlam, Surrey, Abbotsford and Kamloops 鈥� in May with a schedule being finalized and likely released next month.
鈥淲e remain strong supporters of the USL W-League and wish all the teams in the Western Conference the best of luck as they bring back the cup to the West Coast,鈥� said Dew, director of female development for the Highlanders. 鈥淭he opportunity to realize better results in league play with a team derived from a mixture of young developmental and veteran players is better for the long term development of top-level women鈥檚 players.
鈥淟ooking onwards we commit to maintain the high standards of development in the women's game and look forward to the upcoming season in the PCSL.鈥�
CORNER KICKS: DeFrias says the Highlanders have already sold 300 season-ticket packages, on its way to hopefully reaching 800 by May, when the seasons begin for the men and women.
