“Hail, hail the gang’s all here.” It is the rallying cry that Powell River Villa is hoping for when it hosts Alberni Valley Athletics in the second round of BC Soccer’s Male Open B championship at 1:30 pm on Sunday, April 19 at Cranberry Field.
After a big haul at Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL) annual awards over the last weekend, the Keith Miller Cup, emblematic of Senior Men’s B soccer, would look very good next to Kye Taylor’s most valuable player (MVP) award, Villa’s VISL Team of the Year Award (all divisions) and, of course, the Division 3 championship trophy.
The divisional award was expected after a phenomenal season, but the late announcement of the others prompted team captain Taylor to round up a carload of players to scramble down to Victoria for the banquet and awards.
Of his MVP award Taylor said, “It was a bit of a surprise because I missed a few games but I know my ability and I know where I’m at. We were successful so the committee probably thought I was a big part of that and I was but there was a lot more to it and we have to make sure we recognize our guys too.”
Taylor had six goals during the year but Villa had plenty of scoring depth with 10 from Billy Bagiopoulos, nine from Jake Kenmuir and Brody Harry had eight.
Defensively Rob Devlin, Daniel Paul, Trevor Harry, Nick van’t Schip, Dean Thorsell and goalkeeper Matt Liknes allowed just 12 goals all year and led the division with a plus-39 goal differential.
Powell River continues to amaze VISL members with its strong desire to do what it takes to participate in the league, reinforced by its presence at the banquet.
“We decided to take the 5:15 ferry,” Taylor said, “and they were going to hold the presentation because, as the league said, ‘how cool is it that the guys from Powell River are going to make the trip down?’ There are people from Victoria who won’t take two hours let alone two days to attend the event so that speaks volumes for Villa’s commitment.”
Coach Chris McDonough went ahead and the team was well represented with Brody Harry, Bagiopoulos and Rhys Unger who joined Taylor in the race to the festivities.
The team recognition, aside from its impressive 13-2-1 record, culminates a great year that started with the organization’s 40th anniversary.
“The team has experienced a slide in the last decade,” admitted Taylor, “but now the ship is righted and I think they’re rewarding us for sticking it out and battling back. They know how much work, effort and dedication it takes to do that and we’re one of the last clubs that is really a club-club.”
By that he means, “We go in, we work our arses off and we’re in your face all day long on the field. At the end of the day we have beers.”
“My tag line is we roll deep,” said Taylor. “When we say that we don’t just mean our teammates but the whole community. We appreciate the fact that the entire community supports our team and what we’re trying to do every single year.”
Villa president Jamie Zroback is pulling out all stops to get a big supporting cast for his team. “The excitement is building in bringing a provincial game to Powell River,” he said. “I think back to 1995 when I travelled down to Vancouver with my family to watch Villa on the road at our last appearance and dreaming of one day playing for the team, so to bring it to here is really special.
“Alberni tied us this year and they’ve got some dangerous guys,” he said, “so our guys just have to show up and play the best game possible.”
Of the journey to the provincial cup, he said, “You’re going to run into some bigger, older, stronger teams. We’re going to win our games using our speed and we’ve got plenty of that.”
The rally cry is out and to get as many as possible at Cranberry Field on Sunday he announced, “All youth soccer players will be admitted for free and we’re hoping for a huge crowd at the game.”
Taylor added to the invitation. “If you like soccer and want to see it at the best level in Powell River then come on out and support us, we’ll be ready to go.”
Powell River pride and the sunny forecast almost guarantee what should be a very exciting match and hopefully, with strong support, a long run of home games to the cup.
