Victoria Highlanders Women


Victoria Highlanders Women is a Canadian women's soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia. The team was founded in 2001 and in 2010 the team was re-branded from the existing PCSL premier women's team, the Victoria Stars FC, and adopted by the Victoria Highlanders FC. The Victoria Stars were operated by the Victoria Women's Soccer Society, had red and white team colors, and competed in the PCSL premier women division from 2001 to 2009. The Highlanders Women competed in the PCSL premier women division in 2010. The women Highlanders joined the USL W-League in 2011, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Western Conference against the Colorado Force, Colorado Rush, LA Strikers, Pali Blues, Santa Clarita Blue Heat, Seattle Sounders Women and Vancouver Whitecaps. In 2013 due to the travel costs and Vancouver Whitecaps women dropping out of the league, the Highlanders Women returned to the PCSL.
From 2011-2012, the Victoria Highlanders Women played its W-League home games at Bear Mountain Stadium at City Centre Park in nearby Langford, British Columbia. The team's 2010-2011 colours were white, black and gold. In 2013 the team colours have returned to red and white with a Highlanders triskele crest and the team plays primarily at Tyndall Turf.
The team is a sister organization of the men's Victoria Highlanders team, which plays in the USL Premier Development League. There is a PCSL reserve division or U21 team fielded by the Highlanders affiliate Mid Isle Soccer Club named the Mid Isle Highlanders.

Home Fields

For seven of the fourteen years of the Highlanders/Stars existence, Royal Athletic Park has hosted the team.
YearLeagueConference/DivisionGPWDLGFGAPtsAttPosPlayoffsNameGoals
2001PCSLPremier Women145273438176th /8DNQLisa Sharp
Tera Kasabuchi		7
2002PCSLPremier Women147252926234th /84thTera Kasabuchi9
2003PCSLPremier Women156452118225th /9DNQKate Hambleton6
2004PCSLPremier Women10163101295th /6Runners UpKate Hambleton
Jeanette Haas		3
2005PCSLPremier Women108114111311st /8Runners UpAmelie Mercier8
2006PCSLPremier Women149142518283rd /8Semi-finalsMoira Hood5
2007PCSLPremier Women145362427185th /8DNQKate Hambleton6
2008PCSLPremier Women1612315416391st /9ChampionLiz Hansen20
2009PCSLPremier Women1610334017323rd /9Semi-finalsNahiomy Ortiz10
2010PCSLPremier Women161213539372nd /9Semi-finalsLiz Hansen19
2011W-LeagueWestern141310133262678th /8DNQLiz Hansen6
2012W-LeagueWestern14111274543338th /8DNQLiz Hansen
Lindsay Hoetzel		2
2013PCSLPremier Women1613216115412nd /9Semi-finalsLiz Hansen13

Pos. = Position; GP = Match played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lost; GF = Goal For; GA = Goal Against; Pts = Points; Att = Average Attendance; DNQ = Did Not Qualify

Colors: Gold = winner; Silver = runner-up; Cyan = ongoing
Note: Prior to 2010 the team was named the Victoria Stars
The Victoria Stars of the Women's PCSL earned their first victory in their home opener with a come from behind 4-1 win in front of 200 fans at SMUS on Sunday May 27, 2001 over the Kelowna Predators.
In preparation for the 2002 playoffs in Kelowna, the Stars had a friendly against the visiting U-19 women's team from Chinese Taipei, who were in Victoria for the FIFA U-19 World Cup. The game was played at St Michael's University School in front of a crowd of approximately 200 people; Chinese Taipei won a competitive game 2-0. In the playoffs the Stars lost a hard-fought semifinal contest to Surrey United 2-0 and then the consolation final to a Seattle Saints agglomeration 3-2.
The last two weeks of the 2004 season was when training and perseverance showed through with the Victoria Stars earning a trip to the Challenge Cup final with only 13 players over a two-day tournament and then returning the following weekend to host and win the McAdam Cup Final in front of an attendance of about 400.
In 2005 the Victoria Stars were league champions and lost 3-0 to the Hibernian and Caledonian Saints Women in the playoff final.
In 2008 Moira Hood led Victoria Stars goal scorers with five. The team finished 9-4-1, three points off of first place in the league. As the third seed, the Victoria Stars faced the host and second place Tri-Cities Xtreme in the semifinals at Burnaby Lakes Sports Complex. Other stand out players were goalkeeper Jill Carruthers, UVic Vikes defender Jackie Snell, as well as midfielders Mariel Solsberg and Cheryl Bjorgan of the Vikes and UBC's Jocelyn Smith.
In 2009 Nahiomy Ortiz led the Victoria Stars with 10 goals. The playoffs were hosted by Kelowna’s Okanagan Challenge and after a weather delay due to a thunderstorm the Victoria Stars kicked off against the Whitecaps Prospects. The Whitecaps went ahead in the 27th minute. Midfielder Sarah Rhodes and striker Kate Hamilton threatened the Whitecaps, but weren’t able to equalize. Goalkeeper Stephanie Parker and the Victoria Stars’ defence kept the game level within reach until the 72nd minute when the Whitecaps scored their second. Two more goals in quick succession in the 76th and 81st minutes put the game out of reach.
In 2012 the Highlanders Women took on a title sponsor, renaming themselves Peninsula CO-OP Highlanders as well as changing colors back to red and white. The generous sponsorship allowed them to compete in the W-League with its significant travel costs again. As WPS folded in the winter of 2012, they played against top level competition - some of the best players in the world on the Mexican and US National Women's Teams. The season opened with an exclamation point as they upset the Whitecaps Women with 2011 Women's World Cup players Mele French and Chelsea Buckland by a 3-2 score in front of a women's attendance record of 730.
In the 2013 Victoria Highlanders season the women's first team gained momentum as the season went on closing out the league with a twelve-game winning streak including a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps Girls Elite team. The Highlanders and Whitecaps would finish some 16 points clear of the third place team. The Whitecaps would win the treble while the Highlanders would be upset by the Kamloops Heat in a wild game finishing 2-2 at regular time but would eventually go to penalty kicks.

Players

The Women Highlanders are largely a mix of Canadian and NCAA Division I University and College players, Canadian Under 20 National Team Players and local Vancouver Island players.

Squad 2012

This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional or international soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.
George Stewart was manager of the team from 2001-2009 as well as a president and member of the Victoria Women's Soccer Society board. Upon taking over the Victoria Stars, the Highlanders lauded the work done over 10 years in providing a high quality program.
2011 staff listing on USL website,