It’s the weekend we’ve been eagerly anticipating! The Harbourside teams have been putting in the extra work this week to prepare for their grand finale double-header against the TSS Rovers and Unity FC. What a way to end the season!
This weekend also marks one year since Reid Davidson's passing and many of our players, staff, and volunteers will be remembering and celebrating his legacy. The inaugural Reid Davidson Charity Shield - our club's first trophy - will be on display and we're eager to share that two scholarships will be going out this year in Reid's memory.
The men are on fire. At practices this week, the pace was hot, the energy was incredible, and best of all, the lads were having a great time. Over the last few weeks, they have dialled in their playing style and are looking super cohesive.
Coach Kevin Lindo commented on the upcoming weekend:
“Certainly a strange weekend ahead, having back-to-back games certainly not ideal but having the opportunity to make the semifinals is certainly something that we were hoping for at the beginning of the season. It’s gonna take a little bit more planning and the lads are gonna be challenged by two very good teams. Overall, the season has been enjoyable with lots of positives and improvements and we do not want it to end on Sunday so we can’t wait to get out there and we hope there’s a good crowd behind us.”
As the men were putting their cleats on and getting ready for practice on Tuesday, the team’s leading goalscorers, Billy Bagiopolous and Suka Behery shared their thoughts with the media team. Billy noted that ‘it’s going to be a difficult game, but we know what to expect. They’re both great teams.” Suka said it is a “unique weekend because we’re planning and preparing for two teams, with no practice sessions between them. Us and Unity are fighting for that fourth and last playoff spot.” That fight for the final playoff spot is on the top of the players’ and coaches’ minds. As Kevin said, they don’t want their season to end on Sunday! Alex Dedame noted “we’re at home, it’s all positives. We love to play in front of the fans.” Let’s bring the hype and cheer them on!
The women’s team has also been working incredibly hard at practice, and as you may have seen on Harbourside’s Instagram, assistant coaches John and Aja weren’t taking it easy on the ladies this week. A lot of the women are heading into their university teams’ pre-seasons after the League1 season ends, and John and Aja had quite the post-practice fitness hit prepared for them to get them ready for the grind.
The women’s team consists of quite a few players from south Vancouver Island, and during the season, they have been able to practice in Victoria to avoid the long commute. This week however, all the ladies were at practice. Everyone was ready, stoked and fully committed to completely dialling in for the weekend. The atmosphere was incredibly positive. Ava Alexander says the ladies are “ready and prepared. We had a close game against TSS last time, and we looked over our last game and we’re ready to go. Let’s go get them!" Goalie Kaiden Thorpe noted that their game against Unity will be “tough because they’re dynamic on their attacking transition. Now that we’ve played them, we know what to expect.”
Coach Bobbie Taylor said the team is “excited to finish on a positive! We’re definitely looking to get ourselves out of the bottom as we’ve had some extremely positive games but the end result just hasn’t been there. Looking to take care of business this weekend”
On Saturday, the women’s game starts at 1PM, and the men go at 3:30PM. On Sunday, the women play at 12:30PM, and the men’s game will start at 3PM. Get your tickets here!
It's going to be a hot weekend, so bring you're wide-brimmed hat, umbrella, and lather on the sunscreen!
Livestream links will be available on game day. Find them on our Instagram on game day and on League1 BC’s YouTube channel.
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