Cam Hundal鈥檚 cunning on the pitch has been evident for several seasons with the University of Victoria Vikes and Victoria Highlanders.
But on Sunday, he outdid even himself, with perhaps the assist of the season in the Pacific Coast Soccer League. Higlanders鈥� striker Hundal deked a move to the net, which the entire Vancouver Thunderbirds defence bought into, before rolling the ball back to his feet and passing it across to Ryan Ashlee for the game鈥檚 first goal in what ended as a 2-2 draw.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 just the inherent instinct that Cam possesses,鈥� said Highlanders head coach Dave Dew of the deft move.
Hundal also drew the assist, with a through ball to Paddy Nelson, for Victoria鈥檚 second goal to make it 2-1 at 57 minutes. The Thunderbirds 鈥� UBC鈥檚 summer league team loaded with CIS Thunderbird players, recruits and alumni 鈥� pulled out the draw three minutes into injury time off a free-kick set-piece that was headed in.
Dew quipped that Thunderbirds coach Mike Mosher, also the UBC coach in the CIS, told him that it ruined his Sunday morning cup of coffee before the game when Mosher read Hundal would be playing. And with good reason. Hundal, a native of Terrace, made his season debut for the Highlanders in Saturday鈥檚 4-1 victory over Khalsa Sporting Club at Royal Athletic and was involved in all six Victoria goals over the weekend.
Sunday鈥檚 draw against the Thunderbirds, which Dew described as 鈥渙ne of the best games of the season鈥� in terms of entertainment value, moved Victoria to 6-1-5. The Thunderbirds are also only once-beaten at 3-1-5. The Highlanders are tied atop the standings with Vancouver United with 23 points, although United has three games in hand.
Meanwhile, the Mid Island Mariners (6-1-2) kept pace with the top grouping at 20 points by blanking Khalsa from Port Coquitlam 1-0 Sunday in Ladysmith.
The Highlanders have a bye this weekend before heading up to Ladysmith for what is looming as a crucial Island derby against the Mariners, the summer team for the Vancouver Island University collegiate national powerhouse, on June 28.
