Homestand Sweep

Mariners stay undefeated with a pair of 3-2 wins over Douglas and Capilano in Week 2 of the 2021 PACWEST season.

Saturday: VIU Mariners 3, Douglas Royals 2

It took nearly 90 minutes, but the Mariners battled back after a dream start for the Royals to earn a 3-2 win at the Beban Park Turf Fields.

Royals third-year forward Yianni Siafakas scored twice—in the 3rd and 5th minutes—to stake the Royals to the early advantage.

Douglas looked in good shape to take a 2-0 lead to the half, especially after a VIU penalty kick by Shun Takano was saved by the Royals keeper and the rebound was shot over the bar.

However, in first-half injury time, a shot attempt right in front of the Royals net from Grayson Chalifoux was blocked but bounced right to fifth-year forward Taylor Arbour, who buried it past the Douglas 'keeper.

"We started slow," said Larry Stefanek, Mariners head coach. "That goal lifted us and we played better in the second half after making a few substitutions."

VIU tied in the game in the 74th minute. Hirotaka Nishikawa, from just outside of the 18-yard box, unleashed a shot that appeared to deflect off the head of a Royals defender and into the back of the net for his first PACWEST goal.

The winning goal came courtesy another deflection off a noggin: a Chalifoux header, off a corner kick from Takano, put the Mariners up 3-2 in the 83rd minute.

VIU goalkeeper Ben Chamberlin made a couple of late saves—part of his six saves on the afternoon—to preserve the victory.

Sunday: VIU Mariners 3, Capilano Blues 2

Despite rain blowing sideways on the pitch throughout most of the match, VIU and Capilano showed plenty of spirit in a game that ended up favouring the home side.

The 16th minute saw two momentum swings as VIU's Taylor Arbour opened the scoring—only for Capilano's Nima Moazeni Zadeh, the reigning PACWEST Male Athlete of the Week, to return the favour less than 60 seconds later.

Shortly after, the home fans who braved the rain were treated to the Shun Takano show. The fifth-year midfielder scored on a 20th-minute penalty kick followed by a world-class long-range strike in the 22nd-minute. VIU took a 3-1 lead to the half.

"The second half—against the wind—we found it difficult as Capilano are a good squad and managed to force us back a fair bit as they pushed bodies forward," Stefanek said.

The Blues were rewarded in the 61st minute with a Merlin Fisk penalty kick goal and earned a number of late corner kicks, but the Mariners held firm to take the victory.

Mariner goalkeeper Chamberlin, the busier of the two goalies, was credited with eight saves in the win.

"All in all," Stefanek said, "an excellent weekend for us."

Up Next

The Mariners sit in first place in the PACWEST conference with a 3-0 record and hit the road for their next three games, starting with Week 3 matchups versus the Langara Falcons on Saturday, October 2 (3:30 PM) and Douglas Royals on Sunday, October 3 (2:30 PM). Games are streamed live at PACWEST.TV.