Cowichan United played their first U21 men’s soccer game since before Christmas last Sunday afternoon, but the team hadn’t sat idle throughout the winter break, and it paid off.
With four training sessions and a scrimmage with their Div. 1 counterparts during that span, Cowichan United made sure to stay on top of their game. They saw the fruits of their efforts in a 1-0 win over Lakehill at the Sherman Road turf.
“I think our preparation was good,” head coach Tyler Hughes said. “It was our second-to-last league game of the season, so it was an important game based on the standings.”
Cowichan can still finish as high as third in the U21 standings. Four teams from the league go to provincials — the top two in the league standings and two cup finalists — but the next teams in the league standings qualify if there is any overlap. Just one point separates third through fifth, so Cowichan is right in the thick of it.
The backbone of Cowichan’s play on Sunday was a strong defensive effort led by centre backs Jeremy Stacey and Adyn Lamont.
“[Lakehill] created a lot of chances,” Hughes commented. “Lakehill is a good team with a lot of older, experienced players.”
Igor Liah scored the only goal of the match around the 65-minute mark.
Liah had the ball on the left side of the pitch, then cut inside and unleashed a rocket of a shot from about 30 yards out.
“It was a great individual effort, for sure,” Hughes said.
All 18 players who dressed — nearly the entire roster — contributed to the victory.
“Everybody that came on played a big part, whether they played five minutes or 90 minutes,” Hughes said. “It was a great team performance. We’re getting 16 or 17 at practice on a regular basis. It helps bring the level of the whole team up.”
With the win, Cowichan improved to 4-4-6 and tied Lakehill in the standings, both with 16 points in 14 games. Cowichan’s league season ends with road game against Castaways this coming Sunday. Castaways won 3-2 last time the teams met.
“It will be a tough game,” Hughes said. “Every team in the league is tough. I’ve said it before: we have the ability to beat every team in the league, and we have the potential to lose to any team in the league. We’re focused on the boys being mentally and physically prepared before the game. Hopefully they’ll be in the right mind-frame and we’ll get a good performance and then a result.”