One and One

NANAIMO - A parity-filled opening weekend in the PACWEST saw all men's soccer teams finish with 1-1 records. VIU started off with a solid win but was let down by a poor defensive performance in the rematch.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7: VIU 2 - Langara 1
Beban Park Turf
Box Score

The Mariners went 'tall ball' in their opening match of the 2024 season with 6'5" defender Louis Goldbrunner and 6'4" forward Charlie Smith scoring on the way to a 2-1 win over Langara College.

Temperatures hovered around 30 degrees throughout the game on an unseasonably warm September day in Nanaimo. 

In the 14th minute, Goldbrunner opened the scoring when he met a high corner kick from Michael Heppelle at the far post and headed the ball off of the goalkeeper's hands and into the net.

VIU's second goal came in the 36th minute. A string of crisp passes up the field put Kenneth Jolliffe in on goal, but to everyone's surprise, executed a superb fake-shot no-look-pass from the left of goal to an unmarked Smith. The first-year forward finished cleanly for the 2-0 advantage.

VIU's Dani MacAskill (centre) twists and turns to escape the Langara defenders. Photo: Mary Kessenich

Late pressure from the Falcons yielded a goal in the 80th minute from Taigo Shimada. After two shanked shot attempts and two blocked shots within five seconds, the fifth attempt on goal deflected off a Mariners defender and hit the back of the net.

The Mariners locked the game down the rest of the way to start the season with three points. Cody Carter earned the win in his first VIU start while Adriel Agcaoili took the loss for Langara.

Panago Players of the Game

VIU - Louis Goldbrunner
Langara - Kazuki Nakanishi

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8: Langara 5 - VIU 0
Q'unq'inuqwstuxw Stadium
Box Score

The Falcons took advantage of Mariners miscues on set plays to score three goals in ten minutes in the first half on the way to a lopsided win.

All of Langara's goals resulted from set piece play: three corner kicks, one free kick, and one throw-in. Takeru Kaku scored Langara's first and fifth goals while Cobe Monte, Luca Caffaro, and Owen Holscher scored singles. 

The Mariners were only able to muster three shots on goal and rarely troubled the Langara defense throughout the game.

Looking ahead to next week, VIU defender Matt Coburn addmitted that "we have to reorganize and the effort has to be a lot better. Once we settle in, we'll be fine."

VIU's Matt Coburn clears the ball past an onrushing Langara forward at Q'unq'inuqwstuxw Stadium. Photo: Matt Carter

Adriel Agcaoili made three saves on his way to the shutout while Cody Carter took the loss for VIU.

Panago Players of the Game

VIU - Matt Coburn
Langara - Takeru Kaku

Up Next

The Mariners are on the road for the next two weekends, starting Saturday, September 14 at Douglas College (1-1) and Sunday, September 15 at Capilano University (1-1). Visit the PACWEST website for the season schedule and webstream links.

For more information, contact Matt Carter, VIU Mariners Communications & Sports Information Coordinator.