As far as regular season high school soccer games go, they don't get much bigger than the one that will take place this afternoon between the Argyle Pipers and West Vancouver Highlanders.
The Pipers lead the Highlanders by just a single point heading into Wednesday's regular season finale, meaning that if either team can come away with a regulation time victory tonight they will claim the North Shore regular season title and the smoothest path to the provincial championships. An Argyle overtime win would also seal the deal while a West Van overtime win would leave the teams deadlocked, forcing tiebreakers into play.
"It's a big game for sure," said West Van head coach Anne Pellerud, whose Highlanders beat Argyle by identical 3-2 scores in their two previous meetings, once in regulation time and once in an overtime shootout. "It's been two even games.... I expect a very even, competitive game (Wednesday). They have lots of good players and good coaching. I'm sure they want it as much as we do. It will be a good game."
Pellerud knows a thing or two about big games. She grew up in soccer mad Norway, moving to Canada in 2000 with her husband Even, who came to take on the head coaching job with Canada's national women's team. Even stepped down from his role of as Canada's coach in 2008 but the family, including twin daughters Hedvig and Tora, was by then entrenched on the North Shore. The twins are now Grade 12 students at West Van and Anne has been coaching at the school ever since she signed up as a volunteer during the teachers' strike in 2012.
Today's game is a big one for West Van and the Pelleruds, even though the soccer is not at all like it was back in Europe.
"School soccer is pretty relaxed," said Anne with a laugh. "You want to be demanding but you just can't. You have to relax.... It's a great group of girls, and I think their strength is that they just enjoy being together and having fun together. We have some good strong players and we have some players that don't play soccer. But that's the beauty of the game, that they can all be part of it and have fun together."
There is, however, important playoff positioning at stake. Whichever team finishes first will get to take on Burnaby's No. 1 team on Monday with a berth in provincials on the line. The second place team will have a tougher road, needing to beat Burnaby's No. 2 on Monday and then face the loser of the battle of No. 1s on Wednesday. With that smooth path to provincials on the line, Pellerud is hoping for a big showing from her Highlanders.
"It will be very important," she said. "I hope they are up for a big challenge."
Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. today at Ambleside E.
