The Comeback Crew: VIU rallies for four vital points on the road
Mariners tie the Royals and put some breathing room between them and the Blues
COQUITLAM / WEST VANCOUVER - Down at the half versus the undefeated Douglas Royals and down five minutes in versus the Capilano Blues, the Mariners dug in to earn points in both games for the last road trip of the 2022 regular season.
"Really happy with the resilience and character showed this weekend," head coach Kevin Lindo said. "We were behind multiple times over the two games and bounced back each time to get results."
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1: VIU 2 - Douglas 2
Towncentre Turf
No box score available at press time
Defender Matthew Coburn scored his first of the season and PACWEST goal scoring leader Vasilis Bagiopoulos added to his total in the second half as the Mariners came back to tie the Douglas Royals, 2-2.
Royals goals in the 20th and 45th minutes put the hosts up 2-0 at the half, but VIU got on the board in the 65th minute courtesy a sublime free kick from Michael Heppelle. From a considerable distance, he curled a high-velocity kick right to an unmarked Corburn, who deflected it past the 'keeper from in close.
With two minutes to go until second half injury time, Hector Valdez curled a head-height through-ball to the middle of the pitch towards Bagiopoulos. While on the run, he chipped the bounce off the turf over the Royals goalkeeper to complete the scoring.
Goaltender Matteo Chirico made some excellent saves, including on a 39th minute penalty kick, to earn the tie for VIU.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2: VIU 2 - Capilano 1
Mulgrave School
BOX SCORE
The Mariners took a big step towards a PACWEST playoff spot with a 2-1 win over the Capilano Blues.
The victory sees VIU climb 10 points above Capilano in the standings with only four games to play in the regular season.
The host Blues looked great to start the game, with veteran Merlin Fisk wizarding a long volley over VIU keeper Kevin Picard in the 5th minute.
The Mariners responded nearly 30 minutes later after midfielder Juan Rubiano chipped a ball forward for Vasilis Bagiopoulos to run onto. He brought it down with chest and flicked a shot forward with the outside of his right boot. The Blues 'keeper got a leg on the shot but it deflected up and into the net as the Blues defenders unsuccessfully lobbied for an offside call.
VIU took the lead for good midway through the second half. After a short corner kick was passed out to Hector Valdez, he used his left foot to direct the ball towards the goal area. Zimbabwean defender Douglas Mtatabikwa lunged forward to deflect the ball into the Capilano net and was mobbed by his teammates in front of the Mariner bench.
The Mariners outshot the Blues 16-11 (7-5 on target) and goalkeeper Kevin Picard earned the win.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
First-year midfielder Declan Brown (Nanaimo, B.C.) was a significant presence for VIU in all areas of the pitch this weekend.
"In his rookie year, Declan has played a lot of minutes and is relentless in his running and defensive work as well as being a threat going forward," head coach Kevin Lindo said. "He played a big game for us on Sunday in an unfamiliar centre back role."
In that Sunday game, Brown and the Mariners clamped down defensively after allowing an early goal, leading to a 2-1 Mariners win that put VIU ten points up on Capilano with four games remaining.
"Declan has huge potential," Lindo said, "and is going from strength to strength."
UP NEXT
After the conference takes a weekend break for Thanksgiving, the Mariners play at home for the first time since the opening weekend of the season: a weekend matchup between VIU and Douglas, The Mariners and Royals will want to show well down the stretch as these teams battle to see who will join the Langara Falcons at the CCAA Men's Soccer National Championship in November.
"Each week, there is progression and we're building in confidence," Lindo said. "Happy to have a break to recover and regroup but we're very excited for the upcoming home games. It's likely going down to the wire."
Saturday, October 15 - VIU (3-2-3) vs Douglas (3-0-4)
Q'unq'inuqwstuxw (NDSS Turf), 5 p.m.
Sunday, October 16 - VIU vs Douglas
Q'unq'inuqwstuxw (NDSS Turf), 5 p.m.
For more information, please contact Matt Carter, VIU Mariners Communications & Sports Information Coordinator.