Rovers League1 BC Matchweek 6 – The Tides Are Turning

On Saturday, June 3rd, our TSS Rovers returned home to Swangard Stadium after a short trip away in enemy chartered waters at UBC. It was a mixed-result adventure, as the men were unable to gain the coveted victory, falling 1-0 against the Whitecaps. 

However, despite the enemy striking first, the women were able to come from behind and beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1, earning their first win of the season. Our goalie Camellia Xu was an incredible standout of that game, making beautiful saves throughout the match and being the final defense against the Whitecaps attacking players. 

The Swanguardians were also very happy to return home to Swangard after their travels to UBC. While it was fun to harass the spectators who were watching the game without paying for a ticket (c’mon parents it was only $5 to get in!), we were certainly homesick. It was great to be back at Swangard with real grass and access to a full beer supply at our concession stands.

As June is also Pride month, we kicked off our PrideRaiser campaign last campaign, supporting the incredible organization Rainbow Refugee. Rainbow Refugee is a Vancouver-based organization that helps to provide support, information and system navigation for people seeking refugee status in Canada after fleeing persecutions based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or HIV status. 

From June 3rd to the end of the month, the fans and club are giving $72 for every goal the Rovers make to Rainbow Refugee. The donation will also be matched by an anonymous club doner, doubling the final amount. 

There was a delay starting the games, due to the Rivers arriving late to the game after their bus was stalled in traffic on their way to Swangard. If you ask any faithful Swanguardian, they will just say that the Rivers players were scared. 

However, the delay only intensified the anticipation for Saturday’s games. Coming off of their big win away from the weekend prior, the fans wanted to see the women continue to build on their momentum, especially after struggling for the first few weeks. Guests from Rainbow Refugee also joined the Swanguardians in the South Side to cheer on the Rovers. It added such an electric excitement amongst the fans that as a spectator, you could feel that it was going to be a good day of soccer. Our Rovers definitely did not let us down.

The women kicked off the double-header with a bang, scoring quickly against the Rivers early in the 12th minute by #2 Taylor Nekic. It was a great way to start off the match, striking hard and striking fast!

Unfortunately, in the 31 minute, the Rovers sent a back pass to Camellia Xu who was out of position. Xu tried to save the ball from going in but just could not make it in time before it went into the Rovers net. Despite an unfortunate play causing the game to be tied 1-1, the women moved on from the error and fought back quickly by earning another goal in the 37 minute by #5 Maddie Mah. The Swanguardians also decided to count the goal towards the PrideRaiser campaign, as it did technically count as a Rovers goal.

after a bad back pass by the Rovers, the Rivers took possession of the ball and scored a goal in the 31 minute, tying the game. However,

Not even two minutes later, #15 Devon Kavanagh scored again, quickly widening the gap to 3-1 for the Rovers. The Swanguardians and honourary Swanguardians from Rainbow Refugee were going insane in their section, loudly cheering “We’re making them rich! We’re making them rich! Rainbow Refugee – we are making them rich!”

While there were no more goals in the first half, the Rovers continued to keep the pressure on the Rivers with two big scoring opportunities that just missed the net. The first chance came at the 40 minute mark but the Rivers goalie made a beautiful save while the second shot shortly after went wide against the net. 

After half time, the Rovers carried the momentum into the second half and continued to create more scoring options. In the 47 minute, the Rovers had an incredible scoring chance from a great header shot but it just went over the top bar. 

However, in the 55 minute mark, #14 Stella Downing made an incredible play as she maneuvered out the Rivers defender and scored the Rovers fourth goal right underneath the top bar. It was an absolute masterclass of a soccer play! 

As the goals continued to rise for the Rovers, so did the tempers of the River players. Even though the Rivers scored their second goal at the 56 minute mark, their playing style began to become angrier. Even at the start of the second half, you could see the players start to be more rough with jersey tugging and shoves from behind. 

The first yellow card against the Rivers came at the 59 minute mark and it certainly would not be the last. On the foul play, the Swanguardians went absolutely wild when the referee finally pulled out his card. In this writer’s opinion, it was long overdue on the referee’s part.

The Rovers did not back down from the challenge coming from the Rivers. In the 61 minute, Devon Kavanagh scored her second goal of the game, making the score 5-2. After this goal, the Rivers went all out on their aggressive play, earning more fouls and another yellow card in the 64 minute.

Unfortunately, the Rivers’ pressure also resulted in a penalty kick against the Rovers. Camellia Xu was able to stop the penalty kick from going in but could not recover the ball on the rebound. The Rivers capitalized on the loose ball and got their third goal of the game in the 69 minute. A minute later, Rivers scored another goal, cutting the Rovers lead down to 5-4. 

Despite the change of momentum benefitting the Rivers, the Rovers were able to prevent any more goals from the opponent. Both teams battled hard in the last fifteen minutes of play, where the Rivers continued to add to their impressive number of yellow cards during this game. 

In the 82 minute, the Rivers received their third yellow card, as one of their players fouled Stella Downing. Unfortunately, Downing’s knee was injured on the play and was subbed out of the game, ending in a way that was not fitting to the effort she had put into the game. No one wants to see any player get hurt and we hope that she has a speedy recovery.

During the end of the game, we continued to see amazing chances for the Rovers to widen the lead again. The Swanguardians and Rainbow Refugee were certainly hungry for it, never letting up on their cheers. While we did not see any more goals from the women, they were able to hold onto the 5-4 lead against the Rivers and continue their winning streak.

While the women built up the aggressive style of play overtime during their match, the men on both teams decided to start off strong right away. Within the first ten minutes of the game, there were many hard hits and tough tackles on both sides, setting the mood for the entire game.

The Rivers men achieved the first goal of the game at the 11 minute mark, after their player fought through the Rovers defense. The Swanguardians cheered on their team, telling them to “shake it off” and loudly sang their infamous “Courage Rovers! We are going to win – it doesn’t matter” song.

The Rovers did shake it off as they continued to play strong defensively. In the 19 minute, #6 Ali Zohar made a beautiful slide check on a Rivers player, stopping him completely in his tracks. Shortly after, while the Rivers were on another breakaway, #16 Naseeb Bains successfully blocked the breakaway player from another scoring opportunity. 

The fans also had their players back, as the Rivers were incredibly aggressive. Frankly, the “I” in Rivers must stand for irritability, because their men’s team were out for blood. Unfortunately, the referee was not calling a lot of fouls, which sparked outrage from both the players and Swanguardians, as many of these hits were late or from behind. 

At one point, #11 Erik Edwardson barked loudly at the referee that “he needed to start calling more fouls”, mainly for the safety of the players. When the referee instantly told Edwardson to stand down, the Swanguardians collectively all began to yell at the referee. After witnessing Stella get injured in the women’s game, none of the fans or players want to see anyone else get hurt. 

The first yellow card against the Rivers happened at the 23 minute mark, prompting a great scoring chance for the Rovers. Unfortunately, the shot went wide on the net, missing a crucial goal scoring opportunity. The Rivers would receive another yellow card shortly after.

After these fouls, the momentum would switch for the Rovers as they focused more on a stronger offensive play. In the 31 minute, off of a corner kick, #8 Ivan Mejia received a pass back on the play and scored a high corner shot on the Rivers goalie, tying the game 1-1.

Both teams went back and forth for the remainder of the first half but neither could capitalize on their efforts. The Rivers did continue their aggressive playing, which sparked more anger from the fans and players towards the Rivers and the referee for not calling fouls. In the 40 minute mark, the Rivers did a nasty late hit against the Rovers. The referee did call a foul but no yellow card, which was shocking considering the hit was as late as the Rivers bus was to the game. 

At the start of the second half, the Rovers picked up the pace even more and build more scoring opportunities. In the 51 minute, #11 Erik Edwardson scored a goal against the Rivers, helping to take the Rovers to a 2-1 lead. 

Unfortunately, the Rivers did not stop their dangerous aggressive playing and even worse, the referee was not calling the necessary fouls or penalties. In the 58 minute, Erik Edwardson took another late hit from a Rivers player but the referee did not blow his whistle. 

For the majority of the second half, Rovers were clearly the more dominant team. They generated a lot of great scoring opportunities and forced the Rivers to play more defensively. Two standout scoring opportunities for the Rovers came up in the 72 and 74 minute marks of the game. The Rovers had a shot on net that unfortunately hit the post, which shortly afterwards was followed up with a header shot on net that was saved by the Rivers goalie. 

The Rovers persistence would pay off, as right at the 90 minute mark of the game, Erik Edwardson scored what may possibly be the goal of the season for both the TSS Rovers and the entire League1 BC men’s division! Ivan Mejia made a beautiful cross in front of the Rivers net to Edwardson, who jumped in the air and did a scissor kick, catching the ball mid-air and scoring a rocket of a shot against the Rivers. Edwardson and the rest of the team quickly ran over to the Swanguardians section in celebration of the goal, capturing the absolute excitement of the goal. If you have not seen it, you need to watch the replay – it is an absolute beauty of a shot! 

The men would hold onto their 3-1 victory, earning the Rovers a double-victory at home for both teams. Unfortunately, the celebration for the men would end abruptly. When returning to their locker rooms, it was discovered that someone had snuck into Swangard Stadium and stolen the player’s personal belongings. As the players are not on paid contracts, many of the players are either students or working jobs while playing their hearts out every week trying to reach their soccer goals. It is incredibly disheartening for such a horrible action to happen in our beloved home stadium. 

In an effort to help and give thanks to the players, the Swanguardians are raising money for the team to help replace the stolen items. If you wish to learn more or donate, please visit the GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-replace-tss-rovers-players-stolen-items

On a more positive note, thanks to the 9 goals scored collectively from both the men and women’s teams (including the accidental back pass), the PrideRaiser campaign for Rainbow Refugee is currently at $648. With plenty of games happening this June, this number will certainly rise, along with our current standings.

The tides are certainly turning in favour for our Rovers, with both teams getting the big “W” this past Saturday. As the players prepare for another big battle defending our turf this Sunday against Altitude FC, the Rovers will need to continue capitalizing on the momentum they are building and continue making successful goal-scoring opportunities.

Photography taken by/property of @residualimage/@aftn 

Writer’s Note: In the earlier version of this match report, it was accounted for that the first Rivers FC goal was scored by Rivers FC when in actuality, the Rovers accidentally scored on their own net. This error has now been corrected and is now properly stated in the article. The writer also verified that the accidental goal was counted towards the PrideRaiser campaign, so the current donation amount was corrected as well.