Saturday July 20, 2019 ~ LANGFORD
by Mary Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
The July 20 home game for Pacific FC ended in their win 3-1 vs the visiting HFX Wanderers FC at Westhills Stadium.
Sub-billed as a ‘coastal clash’ — as both teams are based in cities that have a military base — there was ‘military appreciation’ at the stadium and via Skype. At half-time the commanding officers of CFB Esquimalt and CFB Halifax revealed their home-team’s T-shirts under their uniforms — pre-taped for broadcast.
Today’s game under clear bright skies saw Pacific FC take their first win of the Fall Season, with Victor Blasco scoring the first goal just nine minutes into the game. Two more goals came thanks to Terran Campbell, those happening in the second half at 61 and 90+1 minutes (the last goal set up by Zachary Verhoven).
The one goal scored today for the HFX Wanderers was in the first half at 15 minutes by Matthew Arnone, assisted by Mohamed Kourouma.
Ben Fisk has been a strong player all season. He was held back on the bench until the middle of the second half, to be a strong contributor toward the end of the game today. “We didn’t have many midfielders left,” said Pacific FC Coach Michael Silberbauer.
“Ben can play all the midfield positions across the field and he was the backup plan to go in when needed. It meant for him to start on the bench but he filled out his role excellent and when he came on here he was very good,” said Silberbauer.
“It was a must-show performance, go out there and work together,” said Silberbauer. “We put in two performances on July 6 and 13 but we tightened up tactically defensively. Offensively it was already working,” said the head coach.
Strong team contributor Victor Blasco said: “Scoring a a goal early is always good for the team.” He added that the energy from the crowd is always good for the team. “This is our field. We want to make sure every time we play here we win,” Blasco said in the media scrum after the game.
This is another game where Terran Campbell put energy into producing goals. “It’s confidence. If you have confidence out there you can do anything,” said Campbell. “We had a good first half and just kept playing the same way.”
Attendance at the stadium today was 2,737 which is up a bit from the last two games.
“I’m looking forward to the game at the grand opening,” says Langford Mayor Stew Young who has been keen to see the stadium expansion completed. When it comes time for the August 24 Pacific FC game and grand opening celebration of the stadium expansion completion, the added bleachers will bring the stadium capacity to 6,000 seats.
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RECENT PACIFIC FC HOME GAMES
- Pregame writeup for the July 20 Pacific FC vs HFX Wanderers game
- July 13 – Pacific FC vs Forge FC
- July 6 – Pacific FC vs Cavalry FC
ABOUT PACIFIC FOOTBALL CLUB. Founded in 2018, Pacific Football Club brings professional football to Vancouver Island. Playing out of a renovated, 6000-seat Westhills Stadium in Langford, the club provides an outlet for Canadian soccer players to compete at the professional level of the sport on home soil. Fans can enjoy the fast-paced, thrilling atmosphere of a Pacific FC game by purchasing tickets at www.pacificfc.ca