Top two set for Canada Day meeting as three teams battle for final playoff place in League1 BC women’s division

There are two distinct battles raging in the League1 BC women’s division as we get set to enter the final month of the regular season.

League leaders Nautsa’mawt are the only team to have already booked their place in the semi-finals and it’s all about positioning now for their top three battle with the Whitecaps and Unity. The top two meet at Thunderbird Stadium on Canada Day in what should be a fantastic match.

As those teams duke it out, there’s a fierce fight for the fourth and final playoff spot between TSS Rovers, Harbourside, and Altitude. Victoria Highlanders have an outside shot to claim that spot but they would need to win their last four matches and see some other results go their way.

However it all plays out, the one thing that is certain is that there’s a lot of exciting action ahead.

Here’s how the table is looking going into the final month of the regular season:

Here’s a team by team breakdown of how the latest action has played out:

(Please note that some of the goalscorers noted on the league website are incorrect, so may not match what we have listed here. We have meticulously gone through every game noting scorers and assists as we feel it is vitally important to have these correct for the players. We are also currently missing some of the assists as not all of the games have been uploaded onto the League’s YouTube channel. Once they are all up, we will update those stats.)

(1ST) NAUTSA’MAWT FC

Nautsa’mawt have been at the top of the table pretty much all season and are the first team to secure their postseason berth, as they look to secure their second straight first place finish in the regular season standings.

The team suffered their first and only loss of the season so far on June 18 to Unity, which was also the only game this season that they’ve been kept off the scoresheet in. Nautsa’mawt lead the league in scoring with 40 goals for and have the joint best defensive record with the Whitecaps, conceding just 12 goals.

A staggering 16 players have found the scoresheet for Nautsa’mawt this season, with 13 players registering assists, showing the depth Jesse Symon’s side has this year. Katalin Tolnai leads the scoring for both the team and the league with 10 goals, but the UBC Thunderbird picked up an ankle injury at Altitude on June 7th that will see her miss the rest of the season and likely some of the college campaign. That game also saw Emma Hooton pick up a shoulder injury.

The rest of the team have stepped up, with Jenna Baxter and Vanessa Tome having four goals apiece, while Jade Taylor-Ryan, Mia Pante, and Shila Rasoul all with three.

(2ND) WHITECAPS GIRLS ELITE

Last year’s L1BC champions have continued where they left off this season, with Katie Collar’s young side playing some of the most attractive football in the division. They currently sit in second, four points behind Nautsa’mawt but with a game in hand. Their quest for first still lies in their own hands ahead of their clash with the league leaders on Saturday. They dropped two points at Altitude last Sunday, salvaging a last gasp draw in the 95th minute, and Ashley Roberts goal could yet prove to be decisive.

The ‘Caps have the second best scoring record in the division, with 33 goals for and having scored in all 10 of their matches, and the joint best defensive record with Nautsa’mawt with just 12 goals conceded.

Kierra Blundell has been in fantastic form and leads the team with 7 goals and 5 assists. Anna Hauer is next in the scoring charts with six, while Ashley Roberts, Jaime Perrault, Joy Kimwemwe, and Mya Archibald all on three goals.

(3RD) UNITY FC

The Langley based side are still in the hunt for a top two finish and a home semi-final spot, but three big points dropped on Saturday in the 3-1 loss to TSS Rovers has left them relying on others giving them a helping hand. They have just three games remaining, the same as Nautsa’mawt but one less than the Whitecaps, and with a far less goal different than the top two.

It’s been quite a transient Unity side this season, with players coming and going throughout the season. Good for confusing opponents as to who they will be facing, but not great for chemistry.

13 different players have scored for Unity this season, with Bryana Buttar and Sophie Crowther leading the way with six apiece, with Seina Kashima on four and Elizabeth Hicks on two.

(4TH) TSS ROVERS

With the top three looking all set bar positioning, the battle for the fourth and final playoff spot looks set to go down to the wire. TSS are leading that charge right now, with their 14 points total giving them the narrowest of advantages over the chasing Harbourside and Altitude.

A huge 3-1 win at Unity on Saturday saw the Rovers move back into the playoff positions after a 10 point June from their five matches so far from three wins, a draw, and a defeat. That’s left them with an overall record of 4 wins, 2 draws, and 4 defeats, but with a goal difference still in the minus, which could yet prove to be a deciding factor in the postseason race. They’ve only managed to keep one clean sheet all season, having also used four different goalkeepers so far.

Ten different players have found the back of the net for the Rovers so far this season, with the in-form Delana Friesen leading the way with 6 goals, all of them coming in the team’s last six matches, including two braces. Friesen also leads the teams with 2 assists, tied with Devan Kavanagh. Five other players have one assist each.

Like the men, with Swangard getting renovated, the Rovers had a home-heavy schedule to start the year. The result of that has meant that they’re going to have to do it the hard way to wrap up a playoff place, with five straight away games to round off their regular season. The first of their remaining four comes in Kamloops against Rivers this Friday, followed by a game at UBC against Nau’tsamawt, and finishing off with island trips to Nanaimo and Victoria. It’s certainly going to be a test of the team’s depth, as they’ll be losing a number of players back to their schools in the coming weeks to go with the number already ruled out through injury.

(5TH) HARBOURSIDE

The Nanaimo side have slowly been one of the most in-form teams in the division. After just one win and four points from their first seven matches, they’ve gone on a three game winning streak in June to get themselves right back in the playoff picture. With four games remaining, their home game with TSS on July 15th could prove to be the decisive match in the battle for fourth.

The big thing going against Harbourside is their goal difference. It’s the second worst in the league on -11, eight worse than TSS, primarily due to the 15 goals shipped in their two early season matches with Nautsa’mawt. This feels like a much different side now that is starting to hit their stride.

Ava Alexander leads the scoring for Harbourside with four goals, one ahead of Emma Skalik, with six other players finding the back of the net for the expansion side. Erin Jensen leads the team with two assists.

An island derby with Highlanders is next up this weekend, before two tough games against TSS and the Whitecaps. If they can get points from those they will have a real shot at postseason play.

(6TH) ALTITUDE FC

While Harbourside feel like a team on the rise, Altitude have stuttered along after a winless June where they were only able to take three points from three draws.

They had a home and away series with TSS where they grabbed a good point at Swangard before losing a close one to the Rovers in North Vancouver and that could prove to be the difference maker as to whether Altitude will be a playoff team or not.

They’re playing some nice football and aside from a 5-1 loss to the Whitecaps in May they have been very competitive and very much in every game they’ve played.

German midfielder Charlotte Ring leads the team in scoring with three goals, with Allie Hughes-Goyette on two, and seven other players on one goal each. Ring is also one of seven players with one assist on the season. They are the lowest scoring team in the division with just 11 goals, but they have the third best defensive record.

With four games remaining, their playoff fate lies in other team’s hands but they certainly have some winnable matches in there and a last day decider at Harbourside could potentially be on the cards.

(7TH) VICTORIA HIGHLANDERS

It’s been a tough season for the Highlanders, who had to wait until their 7th game of the year to get their first win. They have an outside chance of the playoffs, however, with their final four matches against the three teams directly above them and none against any of the top three. Three of those matches will be in Victoria, and four wins and they could be in.

Mariel Solsberg’s three goals leads the scoring for the Highlanders, while Meagan Faulkner, Sofia Jones, and Taiya Scorey each have two, and four other players have one goal each. Faulkner leads the team with two assists.

Much like Altitude, they need to find a way to score more, and are the second lowest in that stat in the division. Find the goalscoring form at home in July and they could make things very interesting.

(8TH) RIVERS FC

It’s been somewhat of a season to quickly forget for Rivers so far. Winless in their first 10 matches, with the worst goals against in the division by a whopping 16, and factoring in the grueling travel, and it’s been a bit of a slog for the Kamloops based side.

They have one of the rising stars in the league though in Albanian international Esi Lufo, who leads the team with four goals going into tonight’s game with TSS Rovers. Ainsley Grether is next with two, matching the number of own goals they’ve been gifted this year. Six other players have one goal each.

Their schedule to round of the year isn’t kind to them either as they face the top four sides, but they can certainly play spoiler in some of those matches, especially with three of them coming at home.