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Mid-Isle Mariners reach summer soccer provincials

Nanaimo-Ladysmith side plays this coming weekend at PCSL championships at Port Moody
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Mid-Isle Mariners player Ben Robson, left, is held up by a Penticton Pinnacles opponent during a game earlier this month at Merle Logan Field. (GREG SAKAKI/The News Bulletin)

Mid-Isle FC might not be the favourite going into playoffs, but it feels it can beat any other team going.

The Nanaimo-Ladysmith side finishes its season this coming weekend (July 29-30) at Pacific Coast Soccer League championships at Port Moody.

The Mid-Isle Mariners clinched their playoff berth some time ago and their playoff seeding wasn’t of primary concern in a neutral-site tournament.

The M’s lost their regular-season finale Saturday at UBC, falling to the Vancouver Thunderbirds 1-0. Those two teams go at it again at provincials in this coming Saturday’s semifinal. Vancouver United FC and the Penticton Pinnacles meet in the other semi.

“We’ve played every team and we can beat all the teams that are at the top, so when they have their players and we have ours, I think the playoffs will be really interesting,” said Bill Merriman, coach of Mid-Isle FC.

Ben Robson, Mid-Isle striker, said, his team will try not to change too much and stick to the style it likes to play. He said the Mariners have a lot of depth and versatility which will serve them well.

“The key for us is to just keep calm and just keep playing good soccer, not get too unfocused on the idea of a championship,” he said.

sports@nanaimobulletin.com





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