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United excited about playoff soccer

Nanaimo United's Div. 1 team begins Jackson Cup play this Saturday (Feb. 21) with a home match against Bays United.
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Andrew Adams

Nanaimo United had such a good season that it earned two playoff runs.

The Vancouver Island Soccer League Div. 1 team begins Jackson Cup play this Saturday (Feb. 21) with a home match against Bays United.

Nanaimo finished fourth in the table this season, good enough to edge out Bays in the standings and grab a berth at provincials in the spring.

But Bays, a perennial powerhouse in the VISL, had a win and a tie in the season series and will be a tough foe.

“It’s a good test,” said Jordan Reems, co-coach of United. “I think if we can pull through this game, we’ll be on a run, for sure, but we’ve got to get through this one.”

He and Mike Greenaway took over as coaches this season and Nanaimo lost its first three games of the fall before finding its footing.

"We picked up some new players, changed the formation; we did a lot of stuff at the beginning of the year and eventually it just kind of clicked," Greenaway said.

Nanaimo finish tied for the league lead in goals and boasted a VISL Golden Boot winner this year, Ryan Andre.

"We're actually going at the net with purpose," said Reems. "Rather than just keeping the ball and playing around, we've really focused on crossing, finishing, and what it should look like once we gain the opponents' half."

Greenaway said the key Saturday will be sticking to the plan in a high-stakes soccer game.

“Sometimes in those bigger games you want to divert out of your normal game style because you want to match what they’re doing, but if we can play our game like we can, we’ll be pretty good,” Greenaway said.

GAME ON … Nanaimo United plays Bays at 7 p.m. Saturday at Merle Logan Field. Admission is free.

sports@nanaimobulletin.com