The Cowichan Cougars and Cowichan United both destroyed their Lower Island Women’s Soccer League opponents last Sunday by identical 6-1 final scores.
The O30 Cougars annihilated the Victoria Athletics at UVic, while in Div. 2, United liquidated Lakehill at Braefoot Park.
The Cougars got off to a hot start in their match and went up early on a goal by Jenna Waddy just 10 minutes in, with Monni Savory adding to the lead five minutes later. The Athletics goalie made several great saves to keep her team in the game, and a goal just before halftime cut Cowichan’s margin to one goal.
The A’s keeper kept Cowichan at bay again when play resumed in the second half until Ashley Stultz finally broke through with her second of the season. That opened the floodgates, and Waddy, Joeleen Achurch and Courtney McGeachy all added to the onslaught.
“It was a good game from start to finish,” remarked Waddy, whose four goals on the season are tied for the league lead. “I was glad when we finally went up by a couple goals because the game could have gone either way at that point.”
The Cougars will take their perfect 3-0 record on the road again this weekend as they visit Juan de Fuca in Colwood on Saturday.
United took a little longer to get their footing on the fast Braefoot turf, but broke through in the 17th minute when Alyssa Klotz took the ball up the wing and fed it back to Keira Martin. Martin found a wide-open Madison Thomas, who tapped it in to open the scoring. Six minutes later, Sammy Maclean volleyed it home. Maclean then set up Cowichan’s third goal, splitting the Lakehill defence with a slip pass that sent Jada Hill on a breakaway.
The score remained 3-0 until the 63rd minute, when Thomas set up Klotz’s first goal, making up for one that was called back on a dubious offside call late in the first half.
Up 4-0, Cowichan coach Adam Paulson made some changes, putting players in unfamiliar positions to gain some experience. Lakehill took advantage and generated their first opportunities of the game. Although Jenn Jack handled the first few chances well, Lakehill finally scored in the 77th minute when a cross deflected off a Cowichan player’s shin, giving the Cowichan goalie no chance to make the save.
Cowichan restored the four-goal lead less than a minute later when Dennene Wallace sent the ball to Maclean, who slotted it into the top corner for her second of the game. Hill scored again in the 83rd moment on another feed from Seleana Jack. Maclean’s two goals and one assist earned her the hard hat for the game.
“After last week when we had trouble finishing our chances, we focused heavily on converting shots while under pressure in practice,” Paulson said. “It was gratifying to see the improvement on the pitch, as we move on to some harder matches coming up. It was also really nice to see Sammy Maclean break out with her first two goals for the club, after a few years with the team.”
With two straight wins since dropping their season opener, Cowichan will look to keep the streak alive when they play host to Vic West FC on the Sherman Road turf this Sunday at noon.
In Div. 3, NIFA Pacific United FC finally played their first match of the season after a cancellation and a bye week, and lost 5-1 to Juan de Fuca FC at Westhills Stadium. NIFA Pacific will host Lakehill FC at the Cowichan Sportsplex this Sunday at 1 p.m.