Thursday August 26, 2021 | LANGFORD, BC
by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
Half the regular season is done, and the next home-game for Pacific FC in the second half of the 2021 pro soccer Canadian Premier League season comes up on Sunday.
Smack in the middle of that is tonight’s showcase between Pacific FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Starlight Stadium in Langford. As of last night the stadium has sold out for tonight’s 7 pm game, meaning (under COVID public health protocols) 5,000 spectators in seats and media on site, plus employees. Otherwise, the stadium has a 6,500 spectator capacity.
High-energy match-up:
“There will be a lot of familiar faces,” says Pacific FC’s VP Operations Brad Norris-Jones, meaning many of the players on both teams know each other and have been on-field together in the past.
But he also describes tonight’s game as a “David and Goliath” event… Pacific FC as the newer younger team might just wallop the powerful Whitecaps. “At any given time you can win,” Norris-Jones told Island Social Trends pre-game today.
“It’s a next-level event,” says Norris-Jones, which can be possible now with the expanded stadium seating, the new lighting, and range of stadium facilities (concessions, play-park area for kids, washrooms, as well as designated media areas).
Both sides will be anxious to topple the other in this one-match knockout tie, with Cavalry FC awaiting the winner in the quarterfinal, say Pacific FC organizers.
“The Whitecaps, looking to get their hands on the Voyageurs Cup for just the second time ever (and the first time since 2015), will be under pressure to knock off the CPL opposition, while Pacific are embracing the chance to be giant-slayers and pull off the ‘cupset.’,” is how organizers see it.
Building the team:
Five Pacific FC players have been with the team from the start in 2019: Terran Campbell (attacker), Kadin Chung (defender), Matthew Baldisimo (midfielder), Alessandro Hojabrpour (midfielder), and Nolan Wirth (goalkeeper).
“It was a very young team,” is how Norris-Jones describes Pacific FC when they first assembled for the 2019 season. “But there’s been growth, and now they’re all leaders,” he says quite proudly.
Over the seasons, that contrast and growth has been evident in the Pacific FC games against the Calgary-based Cavalry FC.
“Our team is much younger, but there’s a good rivalry right now,” says Norris-Jones. It takes a few years to get to that level of control, notes Norris-Jones about the Cavalry enterprise.
Pandemic impacts:
The 2020 season was played on the other side of the country, in Charlottetown, PEI. The 2021 season started with a pandemic bubble in Winnipeg and home games launched here on June 26. The pandemic has been challenging, admits Norris-Jones, noting protocols to abide by.
“But we’ve had great support from the City of Langford and Island Health. That made it manageable.” Earlier in the season, Pacific FC Coach Pa-Modou Kah noted that the great support of Island Health regarding COVID-19 protocols helped his team prepare as best they could ahead of the season this season, when BC was still in Step 2 of the economic restart.
Coach Kah told media after the July 30 game that “it’s been a long time waiting for sports” during the pandemic. The last game for Pacific FC at home was in October 2019. Kah had been counting: 29 months and 12 days before Pacific FC could play at home again.
Revving up for tonight:
“We’re at the top of the table right now. And now we’re going to take down the big brothers from across the pond,” says Norris-Jones about how the Pacific FC team is gearing up to meet head-on with the Whitecaps tonight.
“There’s a good feel around the office. In COVID there’s not a lot of great feelings,” he says, with the view that a live-action up-beat home game is just what the doctor ordered for the local fans and the league.
Second-half of the season:
The full 2021 CPL schedule includes 14 home games for Pacific FC. The remaining home games at Starlight Stadium are this Sunday August 29 as well as September 9, 19 and 22, and October 16 and 26.
“When visiting teams come to play they love Langford,” says Norris-Jones. “Near the lake, the stadium, and the energy of our fans.”
Fans can watch all Canadian Premier League games livestreamed on OneSoccer.
===== RELATED:
Pacific FC wins 2-0 for roaring home crowd (July 31, 2021)
Westjet supports Canadian Premier League in 2021 season (July 12, 2021)
Pacific FC team gearing up for season start (June 24, 2021)
