At the top end of the men's amateur game, four Vancouver clubs will battle for honours in the prestigious Premier Division of the Vancouver Metro Soccer League (VMSL).
From early September to mid-February, 12 clubs contest for the VMSL Premier Division title, as well as qualification for the B.C. Provincial Cup, in a home-and-away round robin schedule.
This is followed by the Imperial Cup, which is a single-knockout competition played in the spring, with both finalists earning a berth at the Provincial Cup.
In our 2014-15 season preview, the Courier takes a closer look at those four clubs: Columbus FC, Croatia SC, Inter FC and Vancouver Olympics.
Columbus FC
Last season: finished third overall, lost Imperial Cup final.
Founded in 1953 by Italian immigrants who settled around Commercial Drive, Columbus FC looks to make up for a disappointing 2013-14 campaign. After finishing third in the league, Columbus reached the Imperial Cup final before losing to Inter FC.
It was a season that centre back Luca Bellisomo is keen to put right this year. "We have a similar set of guys that have been together for another year," said Bellisomo, who had a spell with Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the United Soccer Leagues First Division, or USL-1.
"Everyone is more experienced and grown a little bit, so I think if we can stay healthy for the most part and stay disciplined, I think we're going to have an even better chance. If we get the luck we need, I think we'll have a really good shot to win a trophy."
Columbus player-coach Jonathan Poli, who is employed as the Whitecaps strength and conditioning coach, is determined to have a fit side. "We'll for sure be the fittest team in the league. That's 100 per cent," Poli said.
Croatia SC
Last season: Finished sixth overall and by winning Provincial Cup, qualified for nationals.
One of Columbus' main rivals are the reigning B.C. Provincial Cup champions, Croatia SC. Tony Francisco's side have more immediate goals, as they are set to represent B.C. at the 2014 National Club Championships in Vaughan, Ont. next month.
Croatia's path to nationals was unexpected after a sixth-place league finish and a first-round exit from the Imperial Cup last season. The turning point was last spring's Provincial Cup run.
"Last year, we were middle of the table but we got on a good run and we won B.C.'s," said Francisco. "This year, we’re looking to build on that and maybe finish top three or four in the league and take it from there."
A former Whitecaps striker, Johnny Sulentic believes Croatia can achieve a lot this season. "For us, nothing but a league title and trying to win both cups will be satisfactory because we've only added to our squad," he said. "We’re more than an 18-man squad, so we've got lots of depth."
Inter FC
Last season: Finished ninth overall and won Imperial Cup. Reached Provincial Cup semifinals.
Inter FC share those lofty ambitions. Having just avoided relegation from Premier last season, Joe Marrello's squad surprised many by winning the Imperial Cup before reaching the Provincial Cup semifinals, where they fell to eventual winners Croatia SC.
Going into the new season, Inter are keen to re-establish themselves as one of the top VMSL Premier sides since first forming in 1990.
"Our goal is to be competitive," Marrello said. "We want to go back to what we were known as before we got relegated [two years ago], which was one of the top teams."
Winning a trophy tends to attract players, and Marrello has had little difficulty in adding new faces to boost his squad. "We have added some players this year by bringing in some youth, plus some players from other teams have come our way as well," he said. "When you have success, it peaks people's interest and it makes it easier to recruit."
Olympics
Last season: Finished second overall in Division One and were promoted to Premier.
The quality of the Premier Division can be a difficult adjustment for promoted clubs from VMSL Division One. Vancouver Olympics are one of two sides that are returning to the league's top tier after a season away.
"The game is faster and there's definitely a quality in strikers in Premier, so if they get half a chance, they're bound to score," said Olympics head coach Dino Anastopulos. "In Division One, most teams don't have a good finisher."
Unlike the other three Vancouver clubs, this season's goal is a simple one for Olympics — avoid relegation.
"Our main goal is to stay up and realistically finish somewhere in the middle of the pack by staying there consistently," said captain Vick Chandra. "We want to try and be competitive in every game we play this season. That's going to be the biggest challenge."
Westside FC
Last year: Finished second last.
Flying the flag for Vancouver in the Metro Women's Soccer League is Westside FC, which is looking to bounce back from a tough campaign last year.
Finishing second last in the standings in 2013-14, Westside has been reinvigorated under new head coach Robin Bennett. The experienced tactician has expanded the roster and introduced a more professional training environment during the summer. For Bennett, these are the first steps towards restoring Westside as one of the top teams in the nine-club Premier Division.
"The challenge for the team in the past few years is that they never had enough players, so I've been working on expanding the roster substantially so that we have depth skill-wise and the flexibility to deal with players that are missing because of work or school," he said.
"We've recruited from across the province, so the team is made up of one-third youth players, while two-thirds are former varsity players at college and university level."
Westside has enjoyed a fair measure of success in recent years, having won silver in both the 2008 and 2011 Provincial Cup finals behind perennial champions Surrey United.
One of their more experienced players is Andrea Neufeld who counts nine seasons with Westside.
"The last few years have been tough, with a lot of players moving on and retiring to other leagues," said Neufeld. "I am very excited to have some new players and an enthusiastic coach leading us into this year."
Simon Fudge has covered the beautiful game in Canada and the United Kingdom for print, web and radio. A gift of family inheritance, he supports Bristol City FC. Reach him at [email protected].
