Victoria’s soccer club is in a good position following playoff knockout
Photo by Matt Zambonin / Freestyle Photography.
On October 23rd, Victoria’s Pacific FC (PFC) lost to York FC in the first round of the Canadian Premier League playoffs. It was a loss that, while unfortunate, felt less to fans like a blow to the stomach and more like a light push to the shoulder. The reason for this is simple — none of us thought we’d even be here in the first place.
Just one month ago, if you would have looked at the Canadian Premier League (CPL) standings, you might have concluded that Victoria’s Pacific FC didn’t have much of a chance at a playoff position. Following a Sep. 30 loss to Valour FC, the bottom ranked team in the league, and an Oct. 5 4-1 shellacking from Cavalry FC, the Victoria club were firmly on a downward trajectory.
With two games left in the season and one spot left in the CPL playoffs, the sixth ranked PFC was faced with a simple decision: win, or go home. Losing even one match would open the door for Vancouver FC — the CPL’s newest team with whom a Salish Sea rivalry has already formed — to swoop in and claim the spot.
Unfortunately, those two games were against some of the toughest opposition the CPL has to offer.
The first contest, on Oct. 10, pitted PFC against York FC, who had already clinched a playoff position amidst their best season in club history. The Toronto-based club spent the year establishing themselves as a team that is both dangerous and deadly, leading the league in both yellow cards and shot conversion rate. They came out looking to continue that trend, successfully defending a surge of PFC corner kicks before scoring on one of their own in the forty-fourth minute. However, PFC was not to be denied. Down a goal with eight minutes left in the second half, substitute Reon Moore, who had to this point only one goal in his past 18 games, scored twice in six minutes to win the game for the island club.
It was a stunning come-from-behind victory, and one that set the stage for PFC’s biggest match of the season. This was an Oct. 19 bout against Forge FC, the juggernaut club out of Hamilton who already clinched the regular season cup, and four of the last five playoff trophies.
With a downpour on Langford’s Starlight Stadium and more than 3 500 fans in attendance, the purple–teal jerseys took to the pitch and lined up against the bright orange of Forge FC, to play a game that meant everything.
This was a game rich with secondary storylines, and at the forefront of those B-plots was the return of PFC captain and Victoria native Josh Heard, who had been sidelined since Aug. 11 with an injury. Despite his time away from the club, Heard remained fully invested, as any captain should be.
“He was the one leading training,” said PFC’s head coach James Merriman in a post-match press conference. “He was [the] one pushing in training with the intensity that he was bringing. He made sure everybody understood the moment.”
It wasn’t just Heard who’s been taken down by the injury bug this year. PFC starting centre-back Aly Ndom was put aside indefinitely in May with an achilles rupture, and starting goalkeeper Sean Melvin played only seven games all season. This, coupled with a slew of unlucky suspensions and poorly-timed international call-ups, threw a PFC club that was supposed to compete for the championship into deep and uncertain waters.
But on the 19th, it felt all game like PFC had finally righted the ship. They were fast and purposeful. Despite controlling possession, Forge FC just couldn’t seem to generate any meaningful chances against a home club that defended with grit and determination. In the thirty-second minute, PFC striker Dario Zanatta managed to slip behind the Forge defense and finish on an expertly crafted cross from Adonijah Reid. After that, it was all about limiting chances and keeping composure. Miraculously, PFC managed to do both.
The 2024 CPL season was a fraught one for Pacific FC, but now that it’s over, we can look at it for what it was; a story of perseverance and recovery amidst trying circumstances. Despite their eventual playoff loss, PFC can leave this season with their chins in the air, having successfully added to the club’s four-year streak of postseason qualification. All eyes are now turned to next year, where with a healthy team and chips on their shoulders, PFC will look to come out faster, stronger, and better than ever.
