Close Encounters
Mariners narrowly miss the postseason following a tie and a loss during the final weekend of the season
VIU men's soccer will just finish outside of the playoff picture for the second straight year after the Mariners were unable to catch the Capilano Blues over the final two games of the PACWEST regular season.
Saturday, October 18: VIU 0 Capilano 0
The Mariners trailed the Blues by three points going into the first game of the weekend. The point spread would remain the same as the Blues held off the Mariners attack to finish with a 0-0 draw.
The best chance of the game belonged to the Blues as they were awarded a first-half penalty kick. However, Mariners goalkeeper Marko Ilich made a fantastic diving save to his right to keep the score even.
The Mariners poured it on throughout the game in an attempt to gain an equalizer and match the Blues in the standings, but the Blues defence held.
Sunday, October 19: Douglas 4 VIU 1
The Mariners needed to win and have Capilano suffer a loss to Langara in order to make the playoffs on a tiebreaker. While the Blues did lose, the Mariners couldn't take down a Douglas squad that has been peaking down the stretch and fell 4-1 in Coquitlam.
The Royals took a 1-0 lead into the half and were up 3-0 with 15 minutes to play. Declan Brown scored a late goal on a great free kick feed from Maxwell Dadzie, but the Mariners ran out of time to get any closer.
With these results, the Blues finished the season with 12 points and claimed the final postseason spot while VIU finished with 9 points from 2 wins, 3 draws, and 7 losses. Capilano will face Douglas in the PACWEST semifinal on Saturday, October 25 with the winner taking on Langara in the conference gold medal game on Sunday, October 26.
For more information, please contact VIU Mariners Communications & Sports Information Coordinator Matt Carter.