Vanderhoof United FC

Vanderhoof United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Vanderhoof, British Columbia and presently playing in the British Columbia Football League's Division Three.

Rivalries
Being their closest neighbours, Vanderhoof United's biggest rivals are Endako Village and Fort St James. Competition is also tight with clubs from Prince George.

History
The Vanderhoof Recreational Society was established in 1915 as an amateur sporting club with various departments. When the board rejected the football department's request to turn semi-professional in 1921, its membership elected to sever ties with with the society, cancelling their memberships en masse and establishing the Vanderhoof United Football Club in 1923.

League competition
The new club entered the lowest tier of Mainland Football Association in 1924, remaining in the Third Division North of the MFL until it was merged with the Vancouver Island Football League to create the BCFL in 1929. The Cardinals were assigned to the Regional Northwest Division Three at that time.

Season-by-season
This is a complete listing of the club's performances in British Columbia Football League competition.

FA Cup
Vanderhoof United began taking part in the BC FA Cup in 1924, but prior to the competition reform in 1929 they never advanced beyond the first round. The Cardinals' first appearance in the new competition came in 1931, when they were dismissed in the first round by 100 Mile House; this remained their last FA Cup appearance for a decade. Qualifying for the first round proper in 1941, they hosted Bella Coola United and played to a 1:1 draw, forcing a replay which they won 2:1 away, advancing to the second round for the first time ever. They continued their good form in the second round, defeating Division Three Quatsino Navy 2:1 in Quatsino, reaching the third round, where they were overwhelmed by a far superior Grand Forks side, succumbing to the Dukes in a 1:4 defeat. Professional sport was suspended in BC between 1942 and 1945 due to the Second World War, but with its resumption in 1946 the Cardinals were once again in the FA Cup, losing 1:4 at home to Sooyoos United; after this appearance, they failed to qualify again until 1951, when they were eliminated in the first round by Gulf Islands United, after which they were once again absent from the first round proper all the way through 1964.

Having returned to League competition for the 1965 season, the Cards qualified directly for the first round in 1965 and 1966, losing in both years in the first round; relegated from Division Three after the 1966 season, they once again failed to appear in the FA Cup until their promotion to D3 for the 1969 season. Although eliminated in the first round that year, in the following year they did much better, reaching the third round for the second time ever, eventually losing - surprisingly - to non-league side Chichester FC of Kelowna. Relegated from Division Three at the end of the season, Vanderhoof was absent from the competition until 1974.

Qualifying for the first round proper in 1974, the Cards embarked on their best run yet, advancing past newly renamed Haida Gwaii United - they'd been called Queen Charlottes United until the previous year - with a fine 2:0 away win at School Road in Sandspit, following that up with a 5:3 extra-time win over Mackenzie in the second round to reach the third round for the third time. Facing D2 Lake City, to whom they'd lost in 1966, they held the Lakers to a 1:1 draw after 120 minutes to force a penalty shootout, which Vanderhoof won 4:1, sending them to the fourth round for the first time to meet Grand Forks for the third time in Cup competition. The Dukes and the Cardinals each had one 4:1 win to their credit, and both were eager to break the tie in their own favour; in the end, Grand Forks came out on top in a closely fought 2:1 win.

In 1975, Vanderhoof United were back in the Football League and remained there for the remainder of the century, thus having guaranteed entry into the First Round Proper of the FA Cup. In 1978 they matched their best performance by reaching the fourth round, defeating second-tier Cassiar City 2:1 in the third round but despite an excellent effort, coming up short against Division One Burnaby Albion. The next year the went one better. After setting a club record biggest win in the second round by crushing Gibsons Athletic 5:0 away and defeating second-tier Cranbrook North Side 4:3 on penalties after an exciting 3:3 draw through 120 minutes, the Cards faced Division One Kitimat & Kemano United in the fourth round. The Electricians opened the scoring, but the Cards stepped their game up and netted three of their own in a wonderful upset victory, advancing them to the fifth round for the first time; sadly, a powerful Port Alberni side was too much, and the Cards lost 0:3 at home; nevertheless, it was a Cup performance to be proud of.

Promoted to Division Two for 1980, the Cardinals entered the FA Cup in the second round, facing Castlegar United of Division Three; after playing to a 0:0 draw, Castlegar won 4:2 on penalties, marking the first time since 1969 that they failed to win their first Cup tie. After exiting in the third round in 1981, Vanderhoof began the 1982 edition with an emphatic 4:0 win away over non-league Penticton Foxes, following it up by defeating another non-league side, Mission City, by a 3:1 score, once again on the road. A tough test faced the Cards in the fourth round in the form of Vancouver City, who were then embroiled in a particularly tight battle in Division One with only eight points separating eighth place from first. To make it harder, the match was played in front of the notoriously unrelenting supporters in Empire Stadium in Vancouver, but through a doggedly determined (City supporters called it "mind-numbing") defensive effort the Cards managed to shock the Reds by winning 1:0. The luck of the draw placed Vanderhoof with another Division One side in the fifth round, Wellington FC of Nanaimo, and once again they held their own against superior opposition, playing to a 1:1 draw after 120 minutes before winning the penalty shootout 3:1 to advance into the rarefied atmosphere of the Quarter-finals. Facing the Cardinals were the same Kitimat & Kemano United club they had eliminated in the fourth round five years prior, and this match was a replay of that one but in reverse: Vanderhoof took an early 1:0 lead only to lose 1:3. From 1984 through 1987 the Cards were in Division One, but never advanced beyond the fifth round. They never advanced beyond the fourth round after that, being relegated from Division Two in 1997 and from Division Three in 1999.

Vanderhoof United failed to qualify for the first round in 2000, but having been promoted back to Division Three for 2001 they resumed their place in FA Cup competition, marking their return to the Football League by advancing to the third round, losing 1:4 at home to Belcarra Supermarine. The next Cup run worthy of mention came in 2009, as a third-level Cardinals team overcame Division Two Smithers & Telkwa United 3:1 away in the second round and Port Alberni Athletic 3:1 at home in the third to advance to the fourth round, where they managed to force extra time against D1 side Fort Nelson RBCAF but came up short, dropping the decision 1:3 after 120 minutes. After losing in the third round of the 2011 competition to rivals Fort St James by a score of 3:0, in 2012 the Cards had luck through the first three rounds, drawing non-league opposition in each before being paired with Division One Grand Forks in the fourth; the 120 of open play ended with the score 1:1, but Vanderhoof's players had the cooler heads and won the shootout with a 4:3 scoreline. The same story - but with a 5:3 decision in the shootout - repeated itself in the fifth round against Port Alberni, sending the Cards where they had been only once before, forty years earlier: the quarter-finals. Facing Division One Prince Rupert Regatta Club in Prince Rupert, the Cardinals pulled off a 1:0 upset win to advance to reach the last four for the first time ever. With the first leg in Vanderhoof hopes were high, but Oak Bay Wanderers ran out to a 3:0 win, all but sealing the Cardinals' fate. Needing to win by four goals the Cards had little chance of winning, but they played with all possible effort and saved face by winning the return leg 1:0; despite that, Oak Bay advanced with a 3:1 aggregate score, but the underdogs were celebrated on their return home for their best-ever FA Cup performance. The Cardinals reached the fifth round again the following year, eventually losing 0:1 away at Keremeyus Albion. Most recently, in 2020 they reached the second round by defeating non-league Edziza Iskut 4:3 on penalties after a 1:1 draw, but succumbing in the second round to Golden in a 0:1 away loss.

Season-by-season
This is a listing of the club's performances in FA Cup competition.

Honours and records

 * Regional Northwest Division One:


 * Highest league position: 14th
 * D1 (1984, 1986)


 * Lowest league position: 14th
 * D3 (1946, 1975, 1999)


 * Most points in a season: 62
 * D2, 1983


 * Fewest points in a season: 19
 * D3, 1975


 * Most goals scored in a season: 65
 * D3, 1978


 * Fewest goals scored in a season: 33
 * D1, 1987


 * Most goals conceded in a season: 71
 * D1, 1987


 * Fewest goals conceded in a season: 30
 * D3, 2001


 * Most wins in a season: 18
 * D2, 1983


 * Fewest wins in a season: 5
 * D3, 1975
 * D1, 1987


 * Most draws in a season: 15
 * D2, 1990


 * Fewest draws in a season: 4
 * D3, 1975
 * D3, 1998


 * Most losses in a season: 23
 * D2, 1997


 * Fewest losses in a season: 6
 * D3, 1978


 * Most games won in a row (to 2001): 6
 * D3, 2001


 * Most games lost in a row (to 2001): 10
 * D2, 1997


 * Most games without losing (to 2001): 9
 * D2, 1996


 * Most games without winning (to 2001): 23
 * D1, 1987


 * Biggest win: 5 goals
 * 5:0 v Gibsons Athletic, 1979 FA Cup 2nd Round
 * 5:0 v Pouce Coupe, 2013 FA Cup 1st Round


 * Biggest league win (to 2001): 4 goals
 * 4:0 v Terrace, D3, 1970
 * 6:2 v Royal Oak Hotspur, D2, 1982
 * 5:1 v Prince George Army, D2, 1991
 * 4:0 v Liverpool VLW, D3 Relegation Play-off 1st Round, 2000
 * 4:0 v Gitsegukla, D3, 2001


 * Biggest defeat: 5 goals
 * 0:5 v Cranbrook North Side, D2, 1997


 * Highest scoring game: 9 goals
 * 4:5 v Smithers & Telkwa Utd, D3, 1969
 * 3:6 v Vancouver City, D1, 1986


 * Highest scoring league game (to 2001): 9 goals
 * 4:5 v Smithers & Telkwa Utd, D3, 1969
 * 3:6 v Vancouver City, D1, 1986


 * Deepest cup run: Semi-finals - 2012