Isaac Koch, the fifth-year 颅lightning bolt who will go down as one of the great University of Victoria soccer players, has the Vikes atop the sa国际传媒 Division of sa国际传媒 West at 5-2-3.
With the other six teams evenly splitting their games, the Vikes are the only team in the division above .500 and cracked the U Sports national top-10 poll two weeks ago at No. 9. A lot of the credit goes to Koch, the attacking midfielder who was 2019 sa国际传媒 West MVP before last year鈥檚 cancelled pandemic season.
There was plenty of time during the dark 2020 season to assess things.
鈥淚t was tough when things were shut down but that made me even more motivated for when things started up again,鈥� said Koch.
He came back determined to close out his fifth season with something memorable. So far so good as Koch has four goals to be tied for the team lead with Ian Whibley, a fourth-year Vikes player out of Ballenas 颅Secondary in Parksville.
But in his self-effacing 颅manner, Koch puts the credit more on the Vikes鈥� team defence than his darting offensive thrusts that have disrupted so many opposition defences over five seasons.
鈥淥ur defence is solid with the best goals-against in the division and that鈥檚 really been the key to what we have done this year,鈥� said Koch, a native of Kelowna.
鈥淥ur defenders and defensive midfielders are on the ball all the time. It all starts in the back for us.鈥�
As one might expect from three-decade-plus UVic head coach Bruce Wilson, former sa国际传媒 captain and one of this country鈥檚 greatest-ever 颅defenders.
Koch鈥檚 play has caught the eye of pro teams and he was invited to Pacific FC training camp in the Canadian Premier League. With his remaining university eligibility, it made the decision to defer pro easier, while gaining more experience in sa国际传媒 West at the university level. The pro game remains a possibility. Leading the U Sports charge into the CPL has been the HFX Wanderers duo of Cory Bent and Peter Schaale, both graduates of Cape Breton University, who have shone with the Halifax-based pro club. That hasn鈥檛 gone unnoticed by U Sports players.
鈥淚鈥檓 open to the CPL 鈥� I鈥檓 open to all of it in the sport,鈥� said Koch.
But first comes the matter of chasing the sa国际传媒 Division and sa国际传媒 West crowns, which continues tonight at 7:15 p.m. and Saturday at 5:45 p.m. at Centennial Stadium against the arch-rival, second-place and only once-beaten UBC Thunderbirds (3-1-6).
They are the final regular-season games before the sa国际传媒 West playoffs, involving the top teams from all four western provinces, beginning Oct. 29-31 with the quarter-finals, and the Final Four Nov. 5-7 hosted by the highest-remaining seed.
The winner advances to the U Sports national championship tournament Nov. 18-21 at 颅Carleton University in Ottawa.
Meanwhile, the UVic Vikes women鈥檚 soccer team was in the U Sports national top 10 before tumbling out and falling to 4-4-2. The Vikes will be battling for a playoff spot today at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Centennial Stadium when they take on sa国际传媒 Division second-place UBC (8-1-1).
