Vantreights did their best to keep a lid on the powerful Gorge FC attack for a little over a half of Sunday’s Vancouver Island Soccer League Division 1 match at Topaz Park.
Then Jon Shah took over and had the green defenders on their heels for much of the second half. Last season’s Div. 1 most valuable player added a pair of pretty goals to his first-half marker and carried Gorge to a 5-2 win that vaulted the 5-0-1 side into top spot in the division.
A Shah goal was the only tally in the first half, which saw Vantreights mount a few promising charges of their own.
Kevin Carrigan headed in the equalizer for Vantreights early in the second half and gave his team a boost. But Gorge turned up the heat and put tremendous pressure on the defence in the ensuing minutes, with Shah and Robert Litke providing the scoring punch. Litke bagged a pair of goals on the day.
Sean Cringle got one back for still-winless Vantreights (0-6-0), but the match was already in hand for the powerful Saanich squad.
In other Division 1 play from the weekend, Cowichan FC (5-1-0) kept pace with Gorge with a 3-0 default win over VI Wave; Vic West (3-1-2) maintained a hold a piece of third spot with a 3-3 draw against Bays United Liquor Plus; while Nanaimo FC (3-1-2) grabbed a share of third with a 4-3 win over Lakehill, paced by a four-goal effort from Daragh Fitzgerald; and Westcastle United saw a 4-1 second half lead slip away in a 4-4 draw with Comox Valley United – thew two teams are tied for fifth at 2-2-2.
