Pioneers Victorious in Victoria

OVER 48 DIVISION Group 1
Richmond Pioneers 2 FC United 2
Goals: Langlands 2
Richmond Pioneers 3 Campbell River 0
Goals: Langlands, Johnston, Swanston
Richmond Pioneers 3 Vic City 0
Goals: Johnston, Langlands, Kushnir
FINAL
Richmond Pioneers 2 Dartmen 0
Goals: Kushnir, Dixon

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On Labour Day long weekend, the Richmond Pioneers traveled to Vancouver Island to participate for the first time in the prestigious Juan de Fuca Invitational Masters Tournament near Victoria and—surprising maybe even themselves—came away victorious, winning a very competitive Over 48 Division.

Divided into two groups, the 8 teams in the Over 48 Division featured 3 from the Seattle area, 3 Vancouver Island teams, and 2 from the Lower Mainland.

The multi-sport complex that hosted the event was aesthetically stunning, with the three tournament fields in excellent shape.

The Pioneers were in tough from the start, against a strong Seattle FC United team that included some former Seattle Sounder players, including England international and former Vancouver Whitecap legend Alan Hinton. An exciting game, the Pioneers came from behind to tie 2-2, with Jim Langlands scoring both Pioneer goals.

The second opponent was Campbell River, another tough game, but the Pioneers bagged maximum points with a 3-0 victory, on goals from Langlands, Ken Johnston, and Ken Swanston.

That set the stage for the key game against the impressive looking Vic City, who had won their first two games in convincing fashion. Only a victory would be enough for the Pioneers to advance to the final. The Pioneers strategy at this tournament was their fast break long ball attacking style backed by solid defending—Chelsea style—and the strategy working to perfection, with the Pioneers stunning the opposition with three goals in the first half from Langlands, Johnston and Evgeni Kushnir.

The Pioneers soaked up a lot of pressure in the second half as the team from Victoria—led by the father of NBA superstar Steve Nash and attired in a nifty strip that was apparently a condition of Nash’s Nike contract—pushed forward relentlessly. But the Pioneer defense, superbly marshalled by David Chan, were giving nothing away. On the few occasions when Victoria broke through, Pioneer goalie Dave Valitas was up to the task, one save in particular was simply stunning. At the final whistle it remained 3-0 Richmond, and the Pioneers had secured a place in the final.

The Over 48 final saw the Pioneers face the defending champions—and the other team from the Lower Mainland—Dartmen, from Burnaby.

Dartmen had moved convincing through the group stage, winning all three of their games while scoring 13 goals.

Not unlike the Vic City game, the Pioneers started strongly and opened the scoring, this time on a Kushnir goal. The ‘Russian Rocket’ should have scored a second goal just minutes later, and another great chance fell to Felix, whose attempt to lob the stranded Dartmen keeper narrowly missed.

These missed opportunities meant the Pioneers went into the second half with a tenuous 1-0 lead. The final 30 minutes saw some stoic defending from the Pioneers, as Dartmen threw everything at them, keeping the Pioneers pinned in their own half. Again, Chan and Valitas were outstanding.

As the clock ran down, Richmond’s defending was becoming desperate, but in the final minute of the game the Pioneers moved the ball up field nicely, resulting in a well taken goal by Billie Dixon, giving the Pioneers a hard fought 2-0 victory over a very impressive Dartmen side. For the third straight game, the Pioneers had held the opposition scoreless.

The victory celebrations were tempered by the need to hastily leave the complex in order to catch the ferry reservations, an oversight by Pioneer ‘management’ who had obviously underestimated this teams ability to reach the final at the first attempt. (Our apologies to the tournament organizers for our quick departure).

Despite missing out on the tournament awards ceremony (not to mention the complimentary beers at the beer garden) the feeling was unanimous amongst team members that Juan De Fuca FC deserve kudos for staging an excellent tournament that is—all things considered—the best the Pioneers have participated in.

A great natural setting, wonderful pitches, top quality teams and, most importantly, impressively organized from start to finish, it was truly a memorable weekend.

Thanks to the organizers—great job guys—and the Six Mile Pub for their hospitality.

Without a doubt, we’ll be back!

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