Powell River Villa players and executive members have seen many moments during 50 years of play in the Vancouver Island Soccer League (VISL), from being at the top of the league in Division 1 to relegation all the way down to Division 3.
In each decade, Villa worked hard to provide an opportunity for players to experience a higher level of soccer locally.
1970s
Villa registered with VISL in 1973 and was placed in the third division. In their first year, they easily won the division and were promoted to the premier division for their second season, where they thrived. Villa placed in the top four several times, and Drew Ferguson earned the league’s MVP honours in 1977, the first of eight times a Villa player won the award.
Early in the club's VISL journey, Villa began to recruit young players for the team due to the departure of a few core players.
“In 1975 or so we brought in four or five 16-year-olds and played them, because for me, it was important to challenge young players to adapt to playing tougher competition,” recalled George Orchiston, who both played for and coached Villa through the years, in the 40th anniversary Villa souvenir program. To this day, Villa continues to recruit the best and brightest players from Powell River’s youth leagues to play for the team.
1980s
The recession of the 1980s impacted Villa as mill jobs disappeared and many promising players moved away for work. In 1982, Villa was relegated to Division 2, but they were undefeated in league play, won the Division in 1983, and moved back into Division 1.
The economy improved and people began to move back to town for work in the late 1980s, and Villa also improved. They were North Island champions in 1987 and 1988, and Ferguson once again won the league MVP in 1989.
1990s
The 1990s were the golden age for Villa. They were VISL champions four times, league runner-up twice, and Jackson Cup winners three times. It was also the decade when current Villa coach Tony Leach joined the team as a player. He was part of the team that lost the Provincial Cup final to North Shore Pegasus in 1995 and has strong memories of the game.
“Even though we lost that game 3-2 in extra time and played our hearts out, the fans’ loyalty was unbelievable,” he said in the 40th anniversary program, referring to the estimated 500-plus fans who “made their presence felt with boisterous cheering and singing” at the game.
“After the game I sat outside going over everything we could have done differently, when Gary Lupul [former Vancouver Canucks player and talent scout, born in Powell River] came up and spoke to me,” added Leach. “Here’s a guy who was just about finishing his career at that time and he said, ‘tough loss, kid, but you guys played awesome’ and it was phenomenal to have a guy like that try to boost my spirits knowing where his roots were from.”
2000s
The recessed economy once again impacted Villa as more and more jobs left Powell River, and young people followed them out of town. After winning the Jackson Cup in 2000, Villa was relegated to Division 2 in 2008. Players like Kye Taylor remained and formed the core of the scrappy team that continued to play and find their way in the league.
In the 40th anniversary program, talking about the passion of Villa players, Taylor said, “There are not many teams out there, either in the VISL or in the province… that get the allegiance we do. You’re there because you want to be there, because of the storied history. For the most part we have Powell River guys with a hell of a lot of pride, and we get a lot of respect around the league because of that.”
2010s and today
Villa was relegated to Division 3 in 2013, 40 years after they started their VISL journey in the same division. By 2019, however, Villa had once again fought its way back to Division 1, and have held on the last four years to continue to compete against the best VISL teams.
While the club has finished in ninth or tenth place each year, players have also turned in some incredible performances, including last year’s thrilling 3-3 tie at home against Division 1 leaders Lakehill FC; in 2020, Villa fell 8-0 to the same team on the road.
As Villa celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend, the underdog team from Powell River continues to overcome challenges to have fun on the field and showcase great soccer for fans and supporters, at home and on the road. Congratulations, Villa, on this milestone!
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