Keeper saves day as Saanich wins Jackson Cup
In the nearly 100-year history of the Jackson Cup, it has been lifted by Island soccer stars of all stripes right on up to World Cup players.
Josh Menzies, who started the season in the Vancouver Island Soccer League’s Division 2, might have seemed an unlikely candidate to join that pantheon. But the goalkeeper stole the game Sunday afternoon in a stellar performance in being named 2014 championship game MVP in backstopping topseed Saanich Fusion to a 1-0 victory over second-seed Cowichan FC before a large gallery at Royal Athletic Park.
Not only did Menzies play an out position for the Roadrunners when at Reynolds Secondary, not goalkeeper, but he is a Type 1 diabetic who plays with a portable insulin pump patched to his stomach area and must be aware of his health situation at all times. He is five-foot-11 but stood tall in the net Sunday.
“I rely on positioning and being confident,” said Menzies, who played goal in club soccer, but not school, and was called up around Christmas from Division 2 to the Division 1 Saanich Fusion side.
Striker Patrick Nelson’s goal at 109 minutes in extra time, on a through ball by UVic Vikes CIS star Craig Gorman, won the Jackson Cup for the first time in Fusion history.
“The Cowichan goaltender [veteran player/coach Bob Stankov] had come out and stopped me earlier in the game on a break, so this time when I saw him coming out, I decided to push it around him,” said Nelson.
Just before that, Cowichan FC striker Steve Scott had banged what looked to be the winner off the crossbar in overtime.
“Their ’keeper [Wright] got his hand on it and pushed it to the crossbar,” said Scott, the former Sooke FC star who was looking for his first Jackson Cup.
“He played very well and that was one of four or five key saves he made.”
That wasn’t the end of it, though, as Cowichan came in waves after Nelson’s goal as they looked for the equalizer. But each time they found Wright.
“It was touch and go, back and forth, but we weathered the storm,” said Nelson, a graduate of Carson Graham in North Vancouver.
“It was a hard fought game at both ends . . . a great game.”
Few were arguing with that assessment.
“This was the best Jackson Cup final since those Gorge-Vantreights days,” said Scott. “It was a 50-50 game and great for Island soccer.”
The Island’s top-four seeds — Saanich Fusion, Cowichan, Vic West and Bays United — qualified for the Province Cup. The draw was in progress late Monday night.
CORNER KICKS: The Mid Isle Highlanders lifted the VISL George Smith Under-21 Cup with a 5-0 victory over Lakehill earlier Sunday at Royal Athletic … Prospect Lake also left little doubt in the women’s Lower Island Terry Price Cup final Sunday at Hampton Park with an emphatic 7-0 victory over Vic West.