Victoria Riptides (also known as the RipTides and Riptide) were a professional
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
team based out of
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...
. The team played for two seasons; the 1984 season of the
Pacific Coast Soccer League
The Pacific Coast Soccer League is an amateur Association football, soccer league, currently featuring teams from British Columbia. In the past, clubs from Washington (state), Washington and Oregon have competed. The Pacific Coast Soccer Leagu ...
, and 1985 season of the
Western Alliance Challenge Series. Their home games were played at
Royal Athletic Park
Royal Athletic Park (also known as Wilson's Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park) is a stadium in Victoria, British Columbia, and is used for baseball, soccer, softball and football, but also hosts special events, such as the annual Great Canadi ...
.
History
David Keith was coach of the Riptides for their first season during which the Riptides secured a record of 7 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss. The team featured several prominent players including former Vancouver Whitecap, Frank Woods; Simon Keith, who joined the 'Tides after playing in the second tier of the British league for Millwall F.C.; Brian Mousley (Portland Timbers); local stand-out Rob Wallace who signed his first professional contract with the Riptides; as well as several Canada national team pool players: Doug Adlem, Glen Johnson and Scott Weinberg (University of Victoria).
In 1985, four independent west coast soccer clubs joined to create an informal challenge series. The challenge cup pitted the Riptides against
F.C. Seattle,
F.C. Portland
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Businesses, organisations, and schools
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* Finncomm Airlines (IATA code)
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and the
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...
in a home and away series. The cup also included games against the
Canada national soccer team which was training for the 1986 World Cup in Vancouver, BC. The national team was not included in the standings.
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Brian Hughes was the head coach to start the 1985 season, but was replaced mid-season by real-estate agent Buzz Parsons who also failed to produce winning results. The 1985 Riptides had a 3-1-3 record, finishing second from the bottom in the final standings. The challenge series led to a discussion among the four teams about forming a permanent league or alliance. The Riptides management at the time, disagreed with this approach and did not participate in future games in what became known as the Western Soccer Alliance
The Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer ...
. They also backed out of joining the newly forming Canadian Soccer Association. The Western Soccer Alliance became the Western Soccer League
The Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer ...
in 1989 which merged with the American Soccer League in 1990 to form the American Professional Soccer League
The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...
.
Year-by-year
1984 Pacific Coast Soccer League
League final standings
''GP = Games Played, W = Wins, T = Ties, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts= point system''
2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss.
:''-League Premiers (most points). -Other playoff teams.''
Regular season results
Victoria Cup Final results
Exhibition results
Team management
* Joe Stott - president
1985 Western Alliance Challenge Series
Series final standings
Results by round
Exhibition match results
1985 Roster
Team management
* Harry Kuiack - president
See also
* Seattle Storm (soccer)
Football Club Seattle Storm, also known as the F.C. Seattle Storm, was an American soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. F.C. Seattle was a "super club" created to provide Seattle players an opportunity to play at a higher level than the loc ...
* Portland Timbers (1985–1990)
* Victoria Vistas (1989–1990)
References
External links
* http://davfal.powweb.com/museum/FCSeattleStorm.htm
* http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1985/1985.htm
{{Soccer in Victoria
Pacific Coast Soccer League teams
Defunct soccer clubs in Canada
Soccer clubs in British Columbia
Western Soccer Alliance teams