Comox Valley United edged Vic West 3-2 Saturday afternoon in Victoria to cap an impressive – and undefeated – three-game road swing through Div. 1 of the Vancouver Island Soccer League.
"It was a gutsy three-game road stint in which we were able to take all nine points on the table," said United team rep Rob Caya. "The Dec. 12 game was played in horrible conditions, but we started well."
Zack Stinson scored in the fifth minute after seeing the goalie out of position and burying the ball near post from a sharp angle. The second goal came around 20 minutes when the Vic West centre backs clattered into each other, leading to a two-on-nothing breakaway. Kyle Bate was stopped but Tyler Laitinen potted the rebound.
Vic West's first goal came at 35 minutes after some good build-up and an excellent over-the-shoulder volley at the near post. Their second came after a lot of pressure. "Their player brought the ball down in the 18 and finished at approximately the 70-minute mark," Caya recounted.
"Our third came through some great build-up in the final seconds. The ball was played into Zack who neatly provided a penetrating ball via an outside-of-the-foot flick for Tom Butcher, who finished it off smoothly. Great and gritty win which takes us to 29 points and tied in second place at the break," Caya added.
THROW INS Butcher was Comox Valley MVP … fifth-place Gorge FC handed first-place Cowichan FC their first loss of the season, 2-1, on the weekend ...