Promotion to Div. 1 of the Vancouver Island Soccer League will be on the line Saturday when Comox Valley United heads south to take on the Prospect Lake Lakers.
A win or a tie in their final league match and United will take second place outright in Div. 2 and earn a spot in Div. 1 next season. The locals are currently in second place, but third-place Westcastle lurks just three points back.
Westcastle also plays their final league game this weekend, against fourth-place Cowichan United. Prospect Lake is in 10th and last place in Div. 2.
On Feb. 15 United was in Victoria to play Div. 1 Bays Liquor Plus in a play-in match for the single-knockout Jackson Cup. "We lost 2-0 but we held our own," said United's Rob Caya. "We created a lot of chances," including hitting a crossbar in the opening five minutes.
"Our back-up goalie Jake Sutton played fantastic, he made some unbelievable saves. They are a very good team (third place in Div. 1) but it was nice for us to see that we could keep up with the big boys next year if and when we are promoted into the first division. We came out of the game quite positive. We feel w can compete up there with some more improvement and hard work," Caya said.