Cowichan and Nanaimo meet in final
Like the 146-year-old FA Cup, the oldest association football trophy in the world, the Vancouver Island Soccer League’s Jackson Cup is also a centenarian.
Considering it is a new-world soccer competition, it is quite something that the Jackson Cup final today, between Cowichan FC and Nanaimo United at 2:30 p.m. at Royal Athletic Park, will be the 102nd annual.
Over the years, the Jackson Cup has featured World Cup players George Pakos and Jamie Lowery, other multi-capped Canadian national team players Brian Robinson, Bob Bolitho and Ike McKay, and a raft of former pros.
This decade, has belonged to Cowichan FC. It is hard to win consecutive sports championship in this era, regardless of level. So, instead, you see the word dynasty being applied to the persistentlytalented like soft he Chicago Blackhawks for winning three Stanley Cups in six years from 2010 to 2015, the San Antonio Spurs four NBA championships in 12 years from 2003 to 2014 and the New England Patriots five Super Bowls since 2001.
Cowichan FC has torn a page from that book in the VISL. Today is Cowichan’s seventh Jackson Cup championship game appearance in the past eight years. It has won the Cup five times in that span.
“There has been turnover, but the core of our team has remained consistent,” said Tyler Hughes, the veteran Cowichan backline stalwart.
Led by veteran Patrick Nelson’s league-leading 23 goals, Cowichan FC captured the regular-season VISL Division 1 championship with a 13-4 record. Cooper Barry and Craig Gorman scored eight goals each.
Nanaimo United, with Daragh Fitzgerald scoring 13 goals and Davis Stupich patrolling the midfield, was 10-3-5 for fourth place.
Cowichan won both meetings with Nanaimo this season, 3-2 and 4-1.
“This is a great rivalry,” said Hughes, the former USL and Swedish league pro, who is a Coastal Carolina University Sports Hall of Fame inductee after his standout NCAA Division 1 career.
“Other than that 4-1 game, every time we’ve played Nanaimo over the past few seasons, it has been a tight, one-goal game.
“Their high tempo will pressure us. But our experience will be key, having been here before. So will our depth. We have 19 players we are comfortable with. A Jackson Cup run really takes it out of you and 11 players is just not going to cut it. At some point, you’ve got to go to the bench.”
CORNER KICKS: The 2017 VISL MVP finalists are Stupich from Nanaimo, Jon Shah from Gorge FC and Bryan Taylor from Vic West . . . Cowichan, Nanaimo, Vic West and Bays United are the VISL representatives into the upcoming Province Cup playdowns . . . Mid-Isle teams won both the VISL George Smith Cup U-21 title with a 6-1 victory Saturday over Juan de Fuca and the VISL Div. 4-5 George Pearkes Cup with a 1-0 win over Gorge United . . . If the Cowichan 49ers beat Vic West today at noon at RAP in the Tony Grover Cup masters final, the Jackson, Grover, Smith and Pearkes cups will all have been swept for the first time by teams north of the Malahat.