This coming weekend is a big one for the Cowichan Valley’s adult soccer teams.
Three teams will play games at the Sherman Road turf this weekend as part of their bids to advance in their respective provincial tournaments.
It will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday when the Cowichan Cougars host Island rivals Gorge FC in the first round of the Women’s Masters B Cup, the first provincials game ever for the Over-30 Cougars.
Later that day, at 4 p.m., the Cowichan Craig Street 49ers host Columbus FC from the Vancouver Metro Soccer League in the quarter-finals of the men’s masters’ A Deryl Hughes Cup. The 49ers are hoping to add a provincial title to their trophy case for this season, which already includes a second-straight Vancouver Island Soccer League masters league championship and a third-straight Tony Grover Cup.
The Niners know how much a big hometown crowd could help them in a big game like this one.
“Really hoping to get a good turnout,” Cowichan head coach Kevin James said. “This is a huge game against a top-notch team.”
On Sunday at noon, Cowichan LMG will host Surrey’s Coastal FC in the quarter-finals of the provincial men’s A Cup. Cowichan edged Bays United 1-0 in the first round of the tournament on April 13, and will need to defeat the second-place team from the Fraser Valley Soccer League Premier Division to advance to the semis. Cowichan head coach Glen Martin has never faced Coastal FC before, but he anticipates a challenge.
“It should be pretty even,” he said. “It should be a hard, low-scoring, tough game. We need to be prepared for overtime.”