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Victoria Highlanders FC
Victoria Highlanders FC is a Canadian soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The club was founded in 2008.
The team had played in the American USL League Two from 2009 to 2019 (except 2015) and in League1 British Columbia from 2022 to 2023. The team's colours are white, black, and gold.
The Highlanders were founded in 2008 when the United Soccer League awarded the city of Victoria, British Columbia the rights to a semi-professional Premier Development League franchise. One of the major contributing factors was the successful 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, of which Victoria was a host city, which led local businessman Alex Campbell Jr. to create the Highlanders. The initial goal of the club was to eventually move to the fully professional USL First Division. Their initial home field was the Bear Mountain Stadium in Langford, British Columbia, achieving great attendance in their inaugural season.
The team debuted in the 2009 season, after spending a year assembling a coaching staff under head coach Colin Miller and recruiting a roster. They played their first match on May 1, 2009 against the Spokane Spiders, winning by a score of 1–0, with the first goal in franchise history being scored by Patrick Gawrys. They finished their inaugural season placing 5th in the Northwest Division with a 6–4–6 record. Over the course of their inaugural season, they averaged crowds of 1,734, including a crowd of 2,412 for their home opener.[citation needed] After the season, head coach Colin Miller announced his resignation to be closer to his family in Abbotsford. The club also announced an affiliation with USL First Division club Austin Aztex in a farm club role, for player development as well as exhibition matches. Ian Bridge was named Miller's replacement for the 2010 season.
In 2011, they qualified for the playoffs for the first time after placing second in their division, but lost to the Fresno Fuego in the first round by a score of 3–1. In 2012, the Juan de Fuca Plate, which was awarded to the best British Columbia PDL team based on matches between the clubs (originally the Highlanders, Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23, and Fraser Valley Mariners and later TSS FC Rovers). The Highlanders finished as runners-up for the original title, finishing second to the Whitecaps due to a tiebreaker.
In 2013, they won their first Northwest Division title, as well as the Western Conference Championship. In the playoffs, they defeated Ventura County Fusion and Portland Timbers U23s in the first two rounds, before being defeated by the Thunder Bay Chill in the semi-finals. In 2014, the club played exhibition matches with Scottish club Rangers F.C. and NASL club FC Edmonton. They finished second in their division in 2014, but lost in the play-in round of the playoffs 7-2 to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23, but they did capture their first Juan de Fuca plate title after defeating the Whitecaps U23 in both regular season matches.
In January 2015, team owner Alex Campbell Jr. folded the team due to not finding financial partners amid mounting financial losses, as the club had never posted a profit since 2009. However, on April 1, Marvin Diercks and Dave Dew, long time Victoria soccer advocates, purchased the franchise and branding rights to the Highlanders from previous owner Alex Campbell reviving the team and announcing that they would join the Pacific Coast Soccer League for the 2015 season. After a good run in the regular season, the Highlanders finished third overall and clinched a berth into the Sheila Anderson Memorial Challenge Cup play-offs. In the playoffs, the Highlanders advanced to the finals, where they lost in a penalty kick shootout to Khalsa Sporting Club.
After a successful season in the PCSL, the club started making plans to return to the USL PDL. During the USL Winter meetings in December 2015, Diercks and Dew purchased the PDL franchise rights from the Puget Sound Gunners FC and rejoined the PDL on January 29, 2016. Also in 2016, the Highlanders forged a partnership with English club Sheffield Wednesday.
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Victoria Highlanders FC
Victoria Highlanders FC is a Canadian soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The club was founded in 2008.
The team had played in the American USL League Two from 2009 to 2019 (except 2015) and in League1 British Columbia from 2022 to 2023. The team's colours are white, black, and gold.
The Highlanders were founded in 2008 when the United Soccer League awarded the city of Victoria, British Columbia the rights to a semi-professional Premier Development League franchise. One of the major contributing factors was the successful 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, of which Victoria was a host city, which led local businessman Alex Campbell Jr. to create the Highlanders. The initial goal of the club was to eventually move to the fully professional USL First Division. Their initial home field was the Bear Mountain Stadium in Langford, British Columbia, achieving great attendance in their inaugural season.
The team debuted in the 2009 season, after spending a year assembling a coaching staff under head coach Colin Miller and recruiting a roster. They played their first match on May 1, 2009 against the Spokane Spiders, winning by a score of 1–0, with the first goal in franchise history being scored by Patrick Gawrys. They finished their inaugural season placing 5th in the Northwest Division with a 6–4–6 record. Over the course of their inaugural season, they averaged crowds of 1,734, including a crowd of 2,412 for their home opener.[citation needed] After the season, head coach Colin Miller announced his resignation to be closer to his family in Abbotsford. The club also announced an affiliation with USL First Division club Austin Aztex in a farm club role, for player development as well as exhibition matches. Ian Bridge was named Miller's replacement for the 2010 season.
In 2011, they qualified for the playoffs for the first time after placing second in their division, but lost to the Fresno Fuego in the first round by a score of 3–1. In 2012, the Juan de Fuca Plate, which was awarded to the best British Columbia PDL team based on matches between the clubs (originally the Highlanders, Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23, and Fraser Valley Mariners and later TSS FC Rovers). The Highlanders finished as runners-up for the original title, finishing second to the Whitecaps due to a tiebreaker.
In 2013, they won their first Northwest Division title, as well as the Western Conference Championship. In the playoffs, they defeated Ventura County Fusion and Portland Timbers U23s in the first two rounds, before being defeated by the Thunder Bay Chill in the semi-finals. In 2014, the club played exhibition matches with Scottish club Rangers F.C. and NASL club FC Edmonton. They finished second in their division in 2014, but lost in the play-in round of the playoffs 7-2 to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23, but they did capture their first Juan de Fuca plate title after defeating the Whitecaps U23 in both regular season matches.
In January 2015, team owner Alex Campbell Jr. folded the team due to not finding financial partners amid mounting financial losses, as the club had never posted a profit since 2009. However, on April 1, Marvin Diercks and Dave Dew, long time Victoria soccer advocates, purchased the franchise and branding rights to the Highlanders from previous owner Alex Campbell reviving the team and announcing that they would join the Pacific Coast Soccer League for the 2015 season. After a good run in the regular season, the Highlanders finished third overall and clinched a berth into the Sheila Anderson Memorial Challenge Cup play-offs. In the playoffs, the Highlanders advanced to the finals, where they lost in a penalty kick shootout to Khalsa Sporting Club.
After a successful season in the PCSL, the club started making plans to return to the USL PDL. During the USL Winter meetings in December 2015, Diercks and Dew purchased the PDL franchise rights from the Puget Sound Gunners FC and rejoined the PDL on January 29, 2016. Also in 2016, the Highlanders forged a partnership with English club Sheffield Wednesday.