Cowichan United wasn’t going to take Juan de Fuca lightly this time around.
JDF’s only win of the Vancouver Island Soccer League U21 season came against Cowichan when the teams met at Royal Bay Secondary School in early October. When the teams squared off on the same field last Friday, Cowichan made sure that didn’t happen again, and went on to a 2-1 victory.
“I think the boys were prepared and ready,” Cowichan head coach Tyler Hughes said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy game. And it wasn’t easy, by any means, but our mentality and our attitude were very good.”
Team captain Tyson Black opened the scoring about 15 minutes into the first half.
“That was a huge goal,” Hughes said. “We’ve come out of the gates slow more often than not and let in some early goals. The last few weeks have been better, but getting a goal early like that was a good feeling. From there, we played with a lot of confidence. It felt like we were in pretty good control of the game.”
Bjorn Erickson also scored in the first half to put Cowichan up 2-0. He was taken down in the box within five minutes of entering the game as a sub, and converted the ensuing penalty shot.
“Bjorn has been playing well the last few weeks,” Hughes said. “It’s a good example: we tell the guys week to week that based on how they do at training, if they do well and work hard, that’s how we will determine who starts and who plays.”
JDF scored their lone goal of the night with less than a minute left to play.
Cowichan now sits third in the U21 division, one point back of Lakehill and one ahead of Prospect Lake, with two games left in the season. Their next league game is scheduled for Sunday, March 4, when they will host Bays United at 2:15 p.m.
This weekend, Cowichan will start George Smith Cup play against Lakehill at Braefoot Park on Sunday afternoon. Cowichan has a win and a tie against Lakehill in league play this year.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Hughes said. “Lakehill is one of the top teams in the league. They’re very good defensively. We’re playing well, we’ve got confidence. It should be a good, low-scoring game. It may even take extra time or penalties.”