By Colton Hornstein
Special to the Record
Comox Valley United men鈥檚 soccer team hosted its semifinal playoff on Saturday (Mar. 9), and the women鈥檚 team played its final group stage game the previous Sunday (Mar. 3), to mixed results.
The men upset Gorge 3-2 in penalties at Vanier turf, while the women fell 2-0 to Gorge in Victoria, ending what was an undefeated season to that point.
CVU men advance to championship match
Nervous energy filled the air on Saturday night for the men鈥檚 game. The crowd of well over 100 people were proud of their team for getting this far in the Jackson Cup, but there was an unanswered question weighing on everyone鈥檚 minds: can the boys keep going, win tonight, and get to the finals?
The team clearly felt the same way, and early nerves got the best of them. A miscommunication between keeper Justin Black and a defender sent a ball that should鈥檝e been an easy clearance directly to the foot of an opposing Gorge FC player for an easy tap-in goal.
Comox battled uphill for the rest of the half, with emotions running high on the home side. Comox received five yellow cards on 12 fouls, versus no cards and only two fouls all game for Gorge.
Local legend Joe Butcher even received a yellow card from the sidelines.
With seconds to go before halftime, it was up to Kaede Sugishima to take the game into his own hands. Playing alone up front in the 5-4-1 formation, Sugishima constantly faced three defenders at a time, all of whom had a foot or more of height over him. His size became his advantage as he slipped around a defender, got a shot off, and picked up his own rebound in the crowd, burying it in the bottom left corner to bring Comox level at 1-1 to end the half.
Gorge pressed hard in the second half, backing Comox into their own end for most of the half. Defender Zack Stinson was required to play at his absolute best, performing no less than a dozen perfectly timed and clean slide tackles to cut off attacks from Gorge鈥檚 forwards.
Comox was under severe pressure though and at a chaotic moment with nearly every player from both teams inside Comox鈥檚 18-yard box, the ball spilled to a Gorge player who scored it and suddenly Comox was behind again.
Having to defend against the pressure but also break out and score another goal with only five minutes to go, Comox shuffled the lineup. Youth substitutes joined the fray and added necessary energy and chances, but they still couldn鈥檛 break through. Queue Nick Marinus. In the midfield, Marinus shielded the ball from two Gorge players at once and with a nifty move bought himself a tiny bit of space to make a pass. Marinus spotted Sugishima running right through the middle and connected with a perfect pass, allowing Sugishima to deke out the defender and cut to the side. The keeper followed sideways but couldn鈥檛 keep up and Sugishimascored it short-side to bring the home team level with minutes to go.
With some more excellent defending, regular time ended and for the second time in a row the game would be decided in an alternating penalty shootout. Gorge鈥檚 first three players each stepped up to take their shots, and each one was denied by excellent saves from Comox鈥檚 keeper, fully redeeming himself from the gaffs during the game. Two goals from Comox meant that Gorge (the heavy favourite going into this game) would be facing four 鈥渄o or die鈥� moments in a row.
First, Gorge scored, to bring the v visitors to within one. Then Comox鈥檚 shot was saved and it was up to Black to respond similarly. He dove to the corner, reacting to the shot, but the shot spilled wide and Comox was through! . For the first time in their history, Comox Valley United will play in the Jackson Cup..
The final game will be played at Starlight Stadium in Victoria at 5:30 on Saturday, March 23 against top-seeded Vic West FC. Win or lose, Comox will have their highest placing in history.
Heartbreak for the women
The Comox Valley United women, after playing to an undefeated season in Div.2, were moved up to Div. 1 for the playoffs, to challenge for the Doug Day Cup.
After winning their Cup Group match at home, The women鈥檚 team travelled to Victoria to face the Gorge FC women鈥檚 team in their quarter-finals, on Sunday, March 3. The day was ominous, with a heavy snowfall making even the drive down treacherous and stranding a few of the local players. Others were out with injury, but the Comox players on the pitch were determined to try their best against a strong side. Despite their effort, they fell 2-0 to Gorge.
They look forward to their next season where, after promotion from their success this season, they will have plenty of chances to face and defeat Gorge in rematches.
