League1 BC Women’s Division Round-up: Whitecaps in a class of their own as they go for the threepeat

The first six weeks of the 2024 League1 BC season are now in the record books and it’s starting to feel a little bit like deja vu in the women’s division with the defending champions Vancouver Whitecaps Girls Elite off to another strong start.

The Whitecaps have continued where they left off last season and have been dominant through their first five matches, sitting unbeaten at the top of the standings with a 100% record. While the Whitecaps are pretty much assured of a playoff spot already, the battle for the other three postseason berths looks set to go down to the wire, with all still to play for over the remaining weeks of the regular season.

There’s been 72 goals scored across the 20 matches played so far, with the Whitecaps leading the way with 24 of those, a third of the total. Forty different players have found the back of the net so far this season (with three additional own goals), with 35 different players registering assists. Kierra Blundell leads the race for the Golden Boot with seven goals, as she looks to win back-to-back trophies. Her Whitecaps teammate Jeneva Hernandez Grey is two back on five goals, with Altitude’s Jade Mitchell on four. Blundell also leads the league with five assists, with the Whitecaps Emma Yee one back on four.

Here’s a breakdown of the seven teams at the end of the Week 6 action:

(1ST) VANCOUVER WHITECAPS – 15 POINTS

The Whitecaps sit atop of the L1BC standing with a 100% record of five wins from their five matches played. They’ve put up 24 goals on their opponents, giving up just one in the process, and that was an own goal in week one.

Ten different Whitecaps have found the back of the net so far, with Kierra Blundell leading the way and the league on seven. Jeneva Hernandez Grey has five, with Kaylee Hunter on three. Blundell leads the team with five assists, Emma Yee has four, Hernandez Grey two, and six others have one.

Defensively solid, and in the knowledge that they’ll once again be losing around a dozen seniors to the college ranks come July, the Whitecaps have been able to give a number of their youngest players some important minutes to get them used to the league. That included 14-year-old Winnipegger Sam Powell, who played the second half of their win over Rivers last month, keeping a clean sheet in the process.

(2ND) BURNABY – 10 POINTS

Burnaby moved into second place in the standings this past weekend, coming away with a very important 3-1 win over Altitude at a sodden Kinsmen Field on Sunday, leapfrogging over the North Shore side in the process. That victory took then up to double digits, with a record of three wins, one draw, and one defeat from their first five games in their inaugural season in the league. With a core of SFU Redleafs players, Burnaby have scored nine goals and conceded three so far.

Isabella Muzzolini scored a fantastic dipping effort from the edge of the box in that win over Altitude, taking her tally to three for the season. Midfielder Muzzolini leads the team in goals, with her SFU teammate Raegan Mackenzie on two, and three other players on one goal apiece. Four players have registered one assist on the season so far, including Mackenzie.

Burnaby have given the Whitecaps their most contested match of the season to date, going down to a narrow 2-0 defeat, and have to be one of the favourites to pick up one of the three other playoff spots. The new girls on the block have scored in four of their five matches, but have yet to keep a clean sheet. Four of their five matches so far have been at home at Burnaby Lake, with another one coming up this weekend. That will leave a lot of travels for the second half of their season, with trips to Kamloops and Nanaimo set to test them.

(3RD) ALTITUDE – 9 POINTS

Altitude are well-placed to secure their first ever playoff berth in their third season in the league, after a strong start saw them lose just once in their first five matches. Sunday’s defeat to Burnaby, coupled with back-to-back matches next with the Whitecaps will see their top four position under threat, but they have a run-in that will see their postseason fate in their own hands.

The other issue for Altitude right now is that they’ve played the most games in the division and are already one game into the second half of their 12 game season. They have managed to score in every match this year, but have also only managed to keep one clean sheet.

The North Vancouver side have scored nine goals, with Jade Mitchell leading the way with four and captain Avery Tulloch two. Three others have one goal apiece. Five players have contributed assists, with centre back Lauren Grey leading the way with two.

(4TH) UNITY – 8 POINTS

Last year’s beaten finalists, and Inter-Provincial bronze medalists, have had a very mixed start to the season with two wins, two draws, and two defeats from their first six matches. The now Surrey-based side have scored 11 goals, the second highest in the division, but conceded 10. They’ve been blanked once and kept a clean sheet once.

What will please head coach Graham Roxburgh is that seven different players have found the back of the net, with captain Elizabeth Hicks leading by example with two goals. Tristan Corneil has two assists, while three others have one apiece.

Four of Unity’s first six matches have been on the road and they’ll hope to now make home advantage pay in the second half of their season, with a couple of midweek matches thrown in there. It’s hard not to see them in the playoffs come July, but they’ll need to sharpen up a few areas to get there.

(5TH) RIVERS – 6 POINTS

Sitting just outside of the playoff places at the midway point of their season, the Kamloops side are having their best season so far in L1BC. Having clocked up four point in 2022, and just three last year, Rivers now sit on six points with a record of one win, three draws, and two defeats.

Rivers started the season with three straight draws, before back-to-back defeats, but they bounced back with a big 3-0 home win against Harbourside on Saturday to set up what could be an exciting second half of the season for them. That included a run of four straight away games and a lot of travelling. With four of their last six games at home, they’ll hope to capitalise on the tiredness of others heading to Hillside Stadium.

They need to find a way to score more goals, with just seven so far this year and 11 conceded. Taylor Miller and captain Ainsley Grether have two apiece, with three others tallying one. Four players have an assist to their name. Satruday’s win was the first clean sheet of the season, with Rivers blanked twice in their six games so far, both road matches.

(6TH) TSS ROVERS – 4 POINTS

It was a tough start to the season for last year’s semi-finalists as TSS shipped 12 goals in their first two matches. Those games were against two of the stronger sides in the division, the Whitecaps and Unity, but they bounced back with a big win at home to Altitude in week three to steady the ship.

With most of their players now in the squad, after missing some key pieces in the early weeks, it’s looked a much different TSS side in recent games. After their 7-0 shellacking by the Whitecaps in their first game, they’ve managed to score in every game since, putting up six goals through their first five matches and conceding 17. Jenna Baxter and Devon Kavanagh lead the way with two goals apiece, with Megan Sun and Vanessa Tome on one each. Five different played have registered an assist.

The Rovers have played the fewest games in the division, and the recent turnaround in fortunes will have boosted their spirits. They need to stop giving up late goals though after losing to Burnaby to a stoppage time strike with the last kick of the match, and dropping two points to an 87th minute equaliser at home to Unity on Friday night.

(7TH) HARBOURSIDE – 2 POINTS

It’s been a tough first half of the season for the Nanaimo side. They’re currently sitting bottom of the table and are still looking for their first win of the campaign. Two draws have given them just two points from their first six matches and they’re sitting on a -11 goal difference after just five goals for and 16 against.

Only three players have found the back of the net, with Erin Jensen and Jazmine Wilkinson leading the way with two goals apiece. Those two also have an assist to their name this season, as does Taiya Scorey.

Yet to keep a clean sheet, Harbourside have scored in four of their six matches and at least have the long trip east to Kamloops out of the way for another season. They’re not totally out of the playoff picture, but they really need to start racking up the wins starting now.