Victoria, BC – Two months ago, as the 2009 Pacific Coast Soccer League season was about to begin, Victoria United Head Coach Eddie Mukahanana was facing a grim reality:  his senior team roster had been devastated.  Not only had 8 top players from the 2008 PCSL League & Challenge Cup Champions moved up to the new Victoria Highlanders organization, but 4 more, all starters, had chosen to retire this season. 

“It was worse than starting from scratch,” commented Mukahanana.  “We would normally count on promoting a number of our Reserve Team members to fill the gap.”  Not a bad idea, since the 2008 Reserve team were also PCSL League Champions.  However a number of players from that team also departed, heading for the Highlanders’ 2009 Reserve squad. 

Today, however, both Victoria United teams have surprised even the more optimistic observers.  The Reserve team, under Coach Nick Daniels, is currently 3rd in PCSL standings, and will definitely be making the trip to the PCSL Challenge Cup tournament July 25-26 in Kelowna.  More surprisingly, the senior team is in 5th place, and has a good chance of making the Challenge Cup trip as well.