Rain fell on the Sherman Road turf on Tuesday night, and the floodgates opened for Cowichan LMG.
In their last Vancouver Island Soccer League game of the season, the Div. 1 soccer team poured it on against an undermanned Comox team for a lopsided 9-1 victory.
The makeup game meant nothing to either club: Cowichan had locked up the league title weeks ago, and Comox was already destined for relegation to Div. 2. The upside for Cowichan was a little preparation for the Jackson Cup final on Sunday after losses in their last two league matches.
“It’s never really good for anybody in a 9-1 game,” LMG head coach Glen Martin said. “But it was good for us to get a win, score some goals and get some confidence.”
Cowichan led 4-0 at halftime, and Comox scored their only goal with about 15 minutes left to play.
Paddy Nelson set a new club record with his 24th, 25th and 26th goals of the season. Tyler Hughes added two, and Cooper Barry, Anton Bucher, Jamie Taylor and Craig Gorman scored one each.
LMG finishes league play with a club-best 67 goals in 18 games, although they also allowed an all-time high of 29 goals.
“I guess there’s a give-and-take there. If you play that style, that can happen,” Martin said. “For the cup final and our BC Cup games, we’ll have to tighten up on defence for sure.”