It's a tight and fluctuating race for the top spot in the Howe Sound Men's Soccer League this season.
The top four teams are only separated by a handful of points. Whistler F.C. is the leader for now, with 10 wins, one loss and three ties (33 points) but Brew Pub has been behind by one or two points or ahead for much of the season.
Even now, Brew Pub has 28 points (eight wins, two losses and four ties).
But Whistler F.C. has the record to prove they can top the league. The team won the playoffs last year, and this is the first year Brew Pub has been stiff competition. For three years it was at the bottom of the scoring and last season played .500 soccer.
"Brew Pub is a team I'm very impressed with," said league chairperson Jose Oreamuno. "Brew Pub was always at the bottom. Something kicked in them."
Oreamuno and vice chairperson Rob Proudfoot said Whistler F.C. has a history of being the team to beat.
"They have a lot of really good players," Proudfoot said.
Some of that may be attributed to a Whistler summer league, something Squamish doesn't have."They don't have a break like we do," Oreamuno said.
Ellis Moving is tied for third spot with Ocean Port United (previously Inter United). Ellis has seven wins, two losses and five ties (26 points).
Ellis is another team that has had the same group of players over the years, Oreamuno said. "They're fighting for top spot."
On Jan. 30, Ellis managed to move up into a three-way tie for second place with Brew Pub and Ocean Port United before falling back into third place on Feb. 4.
Ocean Port United has been fast tracking this year. The team has eight wins, four losses and two ties for a total of 26 points.
"I think the United team is coming on quite strong," Proudfoot said.
The M.B.C. Rangers played Ellis on Feb. 4 and finished with a 1-1 tie. The team is sitting in fifth place with seven wins, five losses, and two ties (23 points).
"We're in that chase pack," said Proudfoot, who plays for the team. "We've lost a few close ones."
He joked last year the team was fighting for last place, but it is definitely doing better this season with a mix of new and older players.
Canex Thunder has had a fall from glory. Last year the team was challenging for the top spot in the Premiership Cup game, but this year sits in sixth place with five wins, nine losses and no ties (15 points). "They're struggling for players I believe," said Oreamuno, noting the team has many good players but often shows up at the field with nine or 10 players.
"They're a better team than their records show," Proudfoot said.
Lil"WAT7uhl has become known as the gentlemanly team - and one with a lot of dedication.
"It's a team that is always on the field," Oreamuno said. He said other teams have told him how much they enjoy playing the Lillooet team. "They are not dirty players."
"They're a nice bunch of guys that travel further than anybody else too," Proudfoot added.
The team has two wins, 11 losses and one tie for seven points. It has a good six points on Lions Gate Ink and Laser (previously Carney's 35). Lions Gate Ink and Laser hasn't won a game last season, but it did accrue its first point of the season in a 2-2 tie against Ocean Port United on Feb. 4.
"We were on top the whole time," said Oreamuno, who plays for Lions Gate. "We were playing with one spare and everyone of them played great soccer."
The Lions Gate team is made up of players over the age of 35, and it was leading for most of the game, but Ocean Port United tied it up.
Regular league play continues until the end of March. There are three weeks of playoffs in which the first place team plays the last place team and so on. There is a Premiership Cup for the top teams, and a Divisional Cup for the bottom four.
