Harbourside FC's women's team missed playoffs on the final weekend of the regular season, and are looking to make the final four in their second season. (Harbourside FC)

By Alex Rawnsley

sophmores

Harbourside FC preparing for second season in semi-pro League 1

Feb 26, 2024 | 1:41 PM

NANAIMO — With a season under their belts, players and staff from Harbourside FC are preparing to make more waves this season.

After debuting in League 1 last summer, both the men’s and women’s squads made inroads into their competition from across the province, with the women falling just short of a playoff spot in the final week of the regular season.

Harbourside FC are continuing their recruiting efforts through the off-season, with goal to find the next group of players to come in and compete along side returnees.

“We want to be focusing on that under 23 age group from the Island, but I’m sure there will be some players as there were last year coming to us from across the country and from other countries, it’s an exciting time of year,” Harbourside technical lead Daragh FItzgerald said.

Fitzgerald added players with Island connections, who are going to school or playing on teams in the United States or eastern Canada, often come home and want to play locally over the summer.

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Harbourside gives them the opportunity to play high level soccer over the warmer months and get a leg up on next season in college.

Returning forward Erin Jensen told NanaimoNewsNOW she’s excited to get back on the pitch with a solid core of second year players, in an effort to make the League 1 post season.

“We’re getting a lot of the same players back which is exciting. I think now that we had the first summer of really getting to know each other on and off the field, is just going to help continue getting into playoffs and being in that top 1-2-3 in the league is possible and would be a great goal for us going in.”

She said returning players will help provide a stable and experienced environment for younger players to come in and excel.

The benefit of a majority of the team having played a full season together will also help the women’s team take a step ahead.

“It’ll help with the younger players coming to try out…just having leaders from all age groups will just help build overall. Having that core group is super exciting for us, whether we’re coming up or new players..”

Harbourside FC’s men’s team struggled to string results together throughout their debut season, but showed a lot of promise and development as they year progressed. (Harbourside FC)

The men finished 1-9-4 in their inaugural season with their lone win coming against Nautsa’mawt FC at home in early May.

Despite the challenging record, four of the team’s final five games were lost by just a single goal.

It’s a sign of growth and development amongst the squad, according to second year defender Fergus Hall.

“I think we learned a lot last year, what to expect with the league and learning the little nuances of being part of the league. Based on that, we can change our approach and I think we have a good chance of doing a lot better this year.”

Hall added a lot of young players in the team last season showed rapid signs of improvement has they earned game time.

New commitments to the team are expected to complement a solid group of returning veterans, led by Hall, national futsal player and goalkeeper Callum Weir, and Egyptian winger Suka Behery who scored the first goal in team history.

Regardless of the personnel, players each game will be tasked with meeting a very high level of soccer.

Hall said League 1 represents a significant jump from university sports.

“It’s pretty much all the best players in university from across Canada come into this league. It’s an adjustment and it’s a level that a lot of guys in the squad last year had never played at before. Now that we’re used to it and guys have experienced that, they’re going to be better prepared I think.”

The schedule for the 2024 League 1 season has not been released, however it’s expected Harbourside’s first games will take place at the end of April.

— with files from Dan Marshall

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