WINLESS NO MORE

Ainsley Grether’s header in the 84th minute lifted Rivers FC to its first victory of the women’s League1 BC soccer campaign on Friday on McArthur Island — a 2-1 win over TSS Rovers of Burnaby. Both the men’s and women’s Rivers clubs will play host to Unity FC of Langley on Saturday on Mac Isle. For more on Rivers, turn to page A22.

ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW

After rolling through the regular season with a perfect record for the first time in club history, the Kamloops Venom are taking aim at the Thompson-Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League title.

“We would love to pack the Snake Pit for our first playoff game, the barn full of fans cheering on our boys,” said Venom general manager Brad Watson, whose team posted a 14-0 mark in regular season action.

The No. 1 seed Venom — sixtime TOJLL champions since joining the league in 2008 — will square off against the No. 4 Kelowna Kodiaks (0-12-2) in a best-of-three series in Round 1.

Game 1 is slated for 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 8, at Memorial Arena in the Tournament Capital. Kelowna will host Game 2 on Tuesday, July 11, a 7 p.m. start at

Kelowna Memorial Arena.

Game 3, if necessary, is slated for 7 p.m. on Friday, July 14, at Memorial Arena in Kamloops.

In the other semifinal, the No. 2 Vernon Tigers (7-7) will square off against the South Okanagan Flames (5-7-2) of Penticton.

The league championship series will be a best-of-five affair, with Game 1 scheduled for Sunday, July 16.

“The right pieces came back from school at the right time,” Watson said. “The core of players we’ve had here for the past few years have been really good and then we’ve had a couple little additions to our younger core. Everything just seemed to come together and we’ve played some pretty good lacrosse.”

Kamloops runner Trey Dergousoff led the league in points (66), goals (33), assists (33) and points per game (5.5).

“He’s been kind of head and shoulders above everybody else,” Watson said, noting Caleb Campbell, Owen Barrow, Connor Barrett and goaltender Robert Gerow have also been among key contributors.

“It’s just a good crew. The young guys are stepping up. The older guys are showing good leadership.”

Gerow led the TOJLL in goalsagainst average (4.39), save percentage (.895) and wins (13).

“I can be honest,” Watson said. “We’ve had not a lot of competition. It’s been a tough year because it doesn’t kind of prepare us for anything more than our league. We know when we get to a provincial championship, if we get there, we are going to have to go above and beyond. We need to be ready. Our practice and play throughout the playoffs is going to have to be top notch.”

The two-time provincial champion Venom won the TOJLL title last year and fell short against the Coquitlam Adanacs in the Tier 1 Junior B B.C. Lacrosse Championship.

Coquitlam dominated the two-game aggregate series in Kamloops, winning 11-5 in Game 1 and 17-6 in Game 2.

This year, the provincial championship will again feature the TOJLL champion and the winner of the B.C. Junior Tier 1 Lacrosse League.

The Tier 1 league champion will host the series, but the format is yet to be determined, said Watson.

Kamloops is vying to reach the national junior B championship, the Founders Cup, which will this year be hosted by the Port Coquitlam Saints from Aug. 14 to Aug. 20.

The Saints (13-4) are fourth in B.C. Junior Tier 1 Lacrosse League standings, with the Nanaimo Timbermen (14-4) in third and the Victoria Shamrocks and Adanacs tied for first with matching 15-3 records.

If the Founders Cup-host Saints reach the provincial final, Watson said it is not clear if the TOJLL champion will automatically qualify for the national championship tournament.

“That’s the joy of Interior and Coastal lacrosse politics,” said Watson, whose Venom earned bronze at the 2010 Founders Cup and posted an 0-4 mark at the 2012 national championship. “We’re kind of in a huge debate on how the format is. We’re seeing where things are at.”

For now, the focus is on attracting a full house this Saturday.

“They deserve it,” Watson said. “They’ve had a really good year.”