鈥淲e鈥檙e a lucky league in that we can play basically year-round,鈥� said Vancouver Island Soccer League executive president Vince Greco.
鈥淭here are not many places in sa国际传媒 where you can say that.鈥�
And local soccer presses the point. The 10th annual VISL all-star games are today at Hampton Park with three fixtures, highlighted by the feature tilt at 3 p.m. showcasing the Division 1 and 2 players. The other games pit the Masters All-Stars against the Division 3 All-Stars at 11 a.m. and the U-21 All-Stars against the Division 4 All-Stars at 1 p.m.
With 95 teams in the VISL from the men鈥檚 Divisions 1 through 4, Masters leagues and Under-21, there are no shortage of potential all-stars.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been an interesting season highlighted by a great chase atop Division 1 by the Big Three of Cowichan [12-1], Bays United [11-1] and Saanich Fusion [10-1-1],鈥� noted Greco.
It鈥檚 hardly surprising to see a healthy representation from those sides in today鈥檚 feature Division 1-2 all-star match with Jordie Hughes, Paul Vanden Boomen, Kellen Holden and Doug Joyce from Bays United suiting up with the defending champions team and Bays players Matthew Northrup and Miguel Romeo with the opposing challengers squad.
Cowichan is represented by Bram Taylor, Joel Wilson and Brad Archibald on the defending champs, and Tyler Hughes, Jesse Winter and Ryan Andre on the challengers. Saanich Fusion has Patrick Nelson, Cooper Barry, Cardin Davis, Matthias Raps and Paul Contumelias playing for the challengers and Ryan Hulstein for the defending champs.
Regular-season play resumes next weekend. The Island will host all the 2013 Province Cup provincial championship games May 11 at Westhills Stadium in Langford.
