Lakehill FC returned to Starlight Stadium with vengeance in mind. The beauty of soccer’s tradition of multiple Cup championships within a single season is that if you don’t win one, there’s always another to drink out of.
Lakehill overcame the heartbreak of its loss on penalty kicks against Vic West in the Vancouver Island Soccer League’s Jackson Cup final with a 5-1 victory over West Vancouver in the Round of 16 of the Province Cup sa国际传媒 championship tournament, also at Starlight.
Lakehill, the last VISL team standing, will play Coquitlam Metro-Ford in the Province Cup quarter-finals on either April 15-16 at Braefoot Park or on the newly-laid Finlayson turf field at Topaz Park.
Lakehill and Vic West were drawn in the same Province Cup bracket but the dream re-match against the Wests was denied by Metro Ford’s 2-0 Sweet Sixteen victory over Vic West in Sooke.
“It’s a healthy rivalry and we wanted to play Vic West again,” said Lakehill FC head coach Mark Bhopal.
Vic West ended a 34-year drought by winning its first Jackson Cup since 1989 as back-up goalkeeper Jack Garner, a 17-year-old call-up from the Island Wave, stopped one of the five Lakehill shots from the spot in the 5-4 penalty portion.
Lakehill was formed in 1956 in Arsenal gear, with the only difference being the cannon in the logo is facing the opposite direction, but has never lifted the Jackson Cup despite dominating the Garrison Cup as VISL regular-season champions in recent seasons and boasting alumni such as 1986 World Cup player Ian Bridge.
Lakehill, however, did break another drought by recording its first Province Cup victory in its 67-year history to advance to the quarter-finals as the Gunners’ goals against West Vancouver came from former Plymouth Argyle and Bournemouth pro Blair Sturrock, former UVic Vikes star and sa国际传媒 West MVP Isaac Koch, prolific VISL scoring-machine Paddy Nelson, former UVic player Jack Hill and Tory Barbon.
“These guys are wired to win and the loss in the Jackson Cup really motivated our players,” said Bhopal.
Lakehill is the last VISL hope in the 2023 Province Cup after all the others went down in the Round of 16 — the Wests 2-0 to Metro Ford, Gorge FC 2-1 to Croatia SC of Vancouver, Nanaimo United 3-0 to FC Tigers of Vancouver and Bays United 11-0 to defending Province Cup champion BB5 United in the Newton district of Surrey.
Bhopal was asked how strange is it to have the rest of the VISL behind Lakehill the rest of the way in the Province Cup?
“It doesn’t happen often,” he quipped.
The Province Cup quarter-finals are April 15-16, semifinals April 22-23 and championship game April 30 at Burnaby Lake.
Lakehill is looking to end a 13-year VISL drought since Gorge FC won the last of its four Province Cup championships between 2001 and 2010. The VISL dynasty previous to that was Vic West, which won the Province Cup six times from 1976 to 1984.
Bhopal predicted its only a matter of time for the VISL to regain past glory: “There’s a lot of talent coming through our league again.”
CORNER KICKS: The Jackson Cup was presented to Vic West on March 25 at Starlight Stadium by Norm “Stormin Normin” Richards, 97, who played on Vic West’s 1951 Jackson Cup championship team. Incorrect information appeared in the March 26 edition.
