History
The original intent of the ownership group was to have a professional team playing in USL-1. There have been previous attempts at professional soccer in Victoria. Taking a step back, the history of association football or soccer in Victoria is comparable in length to most anywhere else in the world. The first documented associated code game was on November 17, 1888 between St Paul’s School and the Victoria Rugby Club. An attempt at starting a British Columbia Professional Association Football League including a team in Victoria came to nothing in 1909. Professional soccer teams from Europe have had one off tours against Victoria sides beginning in 1911. From the first games in provincial competition, amateur sides have charged admission for some games to offset travel costs. The first listed professional soccer team was the Victoria Riptides (1984-1985). The second is the Victoria Vistas (1989-1990) who played in the original Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) against the Vancouver 86ers and teams across Canada. From 1991 on the highest level of Victoria soccer was the amateur clubs in the winter Vancouver Island Soccer League and Victoria United in the summer PCSL.
Five games of capacity crowds at 11,500 spectators, and three others at over 10,000 spectators, greater than those in Vancouver, BC, at an expanded Royal Athletic Park watched group and round of 16 games during the tournament. The other 2007 Canadian host cities will all have either MLS or NASL teams in 2014. From these foundations and the goodwill generated after the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the Victoria Highlanders were created. The original intent of the ownership group was to build the Highlanders organization up, so that the 1st team would play in the USL-1 that the Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers played in at the time. In 2007, this was the second tier of the Canadian soccer pyramid given that Toronto FC was playing in Major League Soccer. The award of a USL PDL franchise was announced January 16, 2008.
The first year 2009 team had eight Victoria United players on their roster as the level of play for USL PDL was seen to be higher than that of the PCSL. In 2009 three other new teams the Seattle Wolves, Portland Timbers U23s, and Kitsap Pumas also joined the Northwest Division. The Northwest Division has had strong competition since the Victoria Highlanders entered. Since 2009, the division has had a PDL-Pro side with USL Pro ambition, 3 MLS affiliates, and a fourth USSDA academy (all 3 MLS teams also run USSDA academies). Victoria was fortunate to retain the PCSL team as the 3 organizations' locations that have switched from PCSL to USL PDL did not, and there was no increase in the number of playing opportunities like there was in Victoria. The Highlanders and Victoria United maintain a friendly relationship and play a charity match each season around July 1.
In their inaugural season with head coach Colin Miller the Highlanders had exhibition games against FC Edmonton in the preseason and finished mid-table in the 2009 NW Division. In the 2010 PDL season they finished mid-table once again while the Portland Timbers U23s from their division won the national championship. In the 2011 PDL season the Highlanders qualified for the playoffs and travelled to the SW Division leading Fresno Fuego where they lost 3-1 in stifling heat. The Kitsap Pumas, winners of the NW Division, won the 2011 national championship. In the 2012 PDL season the Highlanders finished just out of a playoff spot after a late season rally. They also lost the inaugural Juan de Fuca Plate to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 on a tiebreaker. For a more detailed run down please see Year-By-Year below.
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