April 12, 2022 (End of Season)
From the Media Desk of the Fraser Valley Soccer League…
Another high quality and compelling FVSL Premier Division season has come to a close. To cap off the season, a pair of tantalizing cup finals in both the Pakenham Cup and Soccer City Cup were contested. Additionally, there were a handful of last league matches left to settle the final standings, as well as the individual player award. Who took home all the hardware? Head over to FVSL Premier Review for one final time in the 2021-22 season to learn just how the campaign ended!
Presidents Cup
Before getting to the Presidents Cup Final, there was the matter of the semi-finals to attend to, including our final Match of the Week for the season. Underdog Cinderella story Ridge Meadows SC Rowdies from Division 3 attempted to knockoff yet another Division 2 side in Poco FC Titans. Unfortunately for the Rowdies, the clock struck midnight as Titans were in fine form. A brace by Josh Marcinkow as well as a goal from Matthew Dinicolo booked Poco a spot in the final, and a shot a Provincial Cup qualification, with a 3-0 win. Div. 2A winners Mission SC A were looking for a shot at doing the league and cup double but, in order to reach the final that they were hosting as Mission Sports Park, they would need to get past Aldergrove United Highlanders. A goal by Daniel Dejo did give Aldergrove some hope, however, it would not be near enough in the end as Mission romped to a 5-1 win. Riley Foster played the starring role, scoring a hattrick, while veteran player-coach Dan Hill was also on target and Campbell McKinnon chipped in with a goal to book them a place in a home final.
Come Cup Final Day, Mission SC A were in the mood to put on a show in front of their home fans. Credit to Poco FC Titans for a great run to the final, and they did have a few chances that brought sharp saves from Mission keeper Colton Huberts. Ultimately, Mission were simply too much on the day, with five different scorers getting on the scoresheet. It started early with game MVP Isiah Smith scoring after five minutes to finish up a lovely build up and crossing sequence. Mission would double their lead before the break thanks to an alert play by veteran player-coach Dan Hill. Hill showed some savvy, reading the play to turn his defender and latch onto the end of a long free kick forward, then confidently outwaiting the goalkeeper to slot home Mission’s second of the afternoon. After the break, Mission found the dagger as Frederik Boserup finished from a tight angle at the near post on the hour mark to put this one out of reach. It was party time for Mission after that as Anthony Sullivan and David Vanderhoek also added goals to cap off a perfect day from a Mission perspective and see them crown 2022 Presidents Cup Champions!
Masters A Cup
In possibly the most entertaining cup final of the day, the Masters A cup final went right to the wire, with Surrey United SC outlasting league winners Langley United Knights to come out on the right end of a seven-goal thriller, emerging as 4-3 winners. Goals by Surrey’s Keegan Munn and an own goal had Surrey looking comfortable by the time the seemingly ageless Johnny Collins popped in his second of the match from distance to make it 4-1 at the time. However, Langley had won the league going away this season and were not about to give it up. Tyler Bancroft scored twice and Jason Flint added another and, suddenly, this match hung in the balance as the match approached full time. As the minutes ebbed away Langley carved out a spectacular final chance, engineered by a free kick sent out wide being crossed back into an open man in the area. It was a point blank chance but Surrey keeper, and final MVP, Paul Shepperd made a tremendous point blank save to preserve the win and ensure that Surrey United won the Rob Brown Masters A Cup!
Masters B Cup
The Masters B final was just as compelling, although slightly more bereft of goals. Chilliwack Rapids and Whalley City battled it out in a grind of a match that ended up being a defensive masterclass from both teams. It was still scoreless through full time, meaning we had the first match of cup finals day to go to extra time. Tempers were running thin with the match on a knife’s edge and there was little love lost between the players as the teams combined for seven yellow cards. Defense, though, had been at the heart of Chilliwack’s play this season, anchored by Masters 1 Golden Glove winner Kris Reddemann who was determined not to see his goal breached on this day. In the end, the hero would be Chilliwack’s Mike Perry as he broke through with the decisive goal in the extra half hour which was enough to see him recognized as the MVP of the final and see the Rapids lift the 2022 Rob Brown Masters B Cup!
U21 Cup
It was an early start for the U21 Cup final between TSS FC Rovers II and FC Faly B, and it was Faly who appeared to have set their alarm clock for this one. Inside five minutes and lovely flowing counter attack culminated in the ball being cut back through the box and being turned home by Frank Amadasun. Things got even better for Faly ten minutes later when TSS’s Alexander Kon was sent off for being deemed to have handled the ball on the line. This momentarily prevented a goal, but Faly would convert from the spot to double their lead. Despite the manpower disadvantage, TSS found their feet and began to assert some dominance in the match. Fans arriving late may not have even noticed that the Rovers were playing with only ten men. In the second half TSS handed themselves a lifeline when leading scorer Jack Cluff caught Faly acting somewhat casual at the back. He stripped the ball away and calmly tucked into an empty net. From here it was game on over the final half hour as TSS looked for any way back into the match. Faly’s defense, though, bent, heavily at times, but never broke as they saw out the time, holding out for a 2-1 win to be crowned U21 Neil Fuge Cup Champions!
Bradner Cup OPEN
In the Open Brander Cup semis, Division 1 Champions Tzeachten FC rode goals from four different scorers, including a tally by leading scorer and Div. 1 Golden Boot winner Dale Long, to a 4-2 win over Langley United U21. In the other semi, a brace by Giancarlo Torres delivered a 2-0 win for Langley United B over Surrey United SC Elite. This set up a final showdown between a pair of Div. 1 rivals in Langley United B and Tzeachten FC, and what a final it was. The teams traded blows for the full 90 minutes with Dale Long scoring again for Tzeachten along with goals by Derek Epp and Zenow Renarts. However, Langley hung with them every step of the way with Darrell Hayes scoring and Jordan Robillard delivering a heroic brace in front of the home fans at Willoughby. This one needed penalties to decide and the team playing on home soil, Langley, rose to the occasion and emerged as 4-2 to claim the 2022 Bradner Open Cup!
It was goals galore in the Brander Open Division 3/4 Cup in both the semis and the final. Levi Shevernoha and Vikram Puri scored for Div. 3B champs Ladner FC, but it was not enough to see them advance to the final as 3B rivals Surrey FC Royals got goals from Angraj Sandhu and Amritpal Singh before advancing on penalties. They would meet another 3B side, Pacific United FC, in the final after goals for Pacific’s Dharampreet Singh and Karamveer Bhullar, along with a marker for Tajinder Singh Grewal, sent them past 3A’s Ridge Meadows SC Strikers as 3-2 winners. The fun was just getting started, though, as Surrey FC Royals and Pacific FC United put on an entertaining final. Gagandeep Singh notched a brace for Pacific but that was cancelled out thanks to goals by Surrey’s Simranjeet Singh and Maninder Singh in an eventful game that finished eleven against ten. It needed penalties and it was Pacific who held their nerve, going five-for-five from the spot to edge it 5-4 and claim the Bradner Div. 3/4 Cup for 2022!
Bradner Cup Masters
The Bradner Masters A final was a rematch from the League Cup final the week prior between Langley United Knights and Surrey United SC. Surrey had emerged as winners on that day and goals from Trevor Tagieff and Keegan Munn, who scored in both finals, gave them a chance to hoist a second trophy in as many weeks. However, league champions Langley were clearly in a foul mood after losing the League Cup and had not intentions of letting another piece of silverware pass them by. Five different scorers were on target to deliver a 5-2 win as Steven Vaissade scored alongside Christian Bessmann and Josh McCaig. The man who had almost played hero last week, Tyler Bancroft, was on target again in this match and Masters 1 Golden Boot winner Jason Flint rounded out the scoring to ensure Langley did not strikeout in their bid for cup silverware, securing the 2022 Bradner Masters A Cup!
In the Bradner Masters B semis, goals by Ryan Jensen and Fabian Rodriguez booked Langley United Benders a spot in the final with a 2-0 win over Bradner Redshirts. Meanwhile, Whalley City secured a berth in their second final of the season after Varinder Ghuman scored and guided them to a penalty shootout when they edged Guildford FC Pacific United. Unfortunately for Whalley City, it would be the second week in a row where their cup dreams were shattered at the final hurdle, this time at the hands of Langley United Benders. A red card to Whalley’s Mike Arrano did not help proceedings, but Whalley were right in this match thanks to a goal from Rab Panesar. However, it was not enough as goals by Kevin Smith and Ian Finch saw the Benders win 2-1 and lift the 2022 Brader Masters B Cup!
MATCH OF THE WEEK Will return for 2022-23 …
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