“They’re so good, I don’t even know why we’re here,” said a Langley United Ninjas midfielder during their Masters B women’s soccer provincial quarterfinal game against the Cowichan Cougars Sunday afternoon at the Sherman Road turf. At that point, the Cougars had yet to score, but had controlled possession for the bulk of the first half.
The Ninjas likely knew the Cougars were seeking to advance to the semi-finals en route to their third-straight B.C. title, but given the Ninjas play on the lower mainland, perhaps what they didn’t know was that the Cougars have been entirely beatable this season. Cowichan had a lackluster record during their Lower Island Women’s Soccer Association regular season, winning just six games and and losing eight. The Cougars weren’t about to tell the Ninjas that, though.
Joeleen Achurch opened the scoring for Cowichan just minutes into the match. It was her first of the season and earned her Player of the Game honours.
With just a couple of games under her belt following a knee injury but seemingly in better form than ever, midfielder Monni Savory played to a first-half hat-trick while Jenelle Leedham added their team’s fifth of the half to send them into the break with a comfortable lead.
Second half goals came from Tonya Kilmer and Sarah Jones while the Cowichan defence shut the door, earning stand-in keeper Jen Mann a clean sheet.
The Cougars will have to move forward without starting goalie Sara Tweten due to injury but Mann seems up to the task.
The Cougars move on to play on the road against their familiar foe, Gorge FC, next weekend for the right to play in their third-straight provincial final on April 27 at Goudy Field in Langford.
Gorge won the LIWSA masters women’s league this season, sporting a 12-3 record through 15 games. Cowichan will need to focus on their defence in order to stop the league’s top scoring team.
Head-to-head Gorge won three of their four competitions this season, with the fourth being a Cowichan win due to a Gorge forfeit. Gorge outscored the Cougars 13-1 over their three matches played.