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Three Smithers soccer teams qualify for provincial B championships

U13, U15 and U18 teams are headed to Kamloops for provincials the first weekend in July
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Smithers United’s Levi Apperloo (foreground, red stripes) attacks with Tristan Harris trailing during Northern Cup U13 action against Prince George June 18 in Smithers. Smithers won the game 7-1 en route to qualifying for provincials July 7-10 in Kamloops. (Simon Franklin photo)

All three Bulkley Valley United boys soccer teams which competed in the Northern Cup June 18-19 in Smithers have qualified for the BC Soccer B Provincials.

The U13, U15 and U18 boys will all be headed to Kamloops July 7-10 for Les Sinnott Memorial Boys Provincial Cup.

U15 coach Ben Weinstein credited hard work and dedication for his team’s performance.

“The U15 boys train very hard 3 times per week, a fourth day is match day,” he said. “The skills they are developing through continued training and dedication present themselves during game times. In the north, it is difficult to find equivalent teams to play against and the U15 team plays in the U18 league against a diverse group of athletes, some of whom are much older.”

He also credited the local soccer organization.

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“This is a huge success for the BV Soccer Society, who has emerged from COVID in a strong position (kudos to the executive for their decisions the last couple years),” he said.

The U15 team was dominant against Prince George winning 5-1 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday.

“Before our games I told the group they would need to be brave and smart on the field, with a strong united defence, creative offence and lots of positive chatter, Weinstein said. “They did exactly that. Some of the goals we scored were highlight-reel material, and our defence made very few (if any) mistakes. Our goalie made incredible diving saves that frustrated our opponents.”

While the U15s sailed to victory, the U13 s and U18s finished the round robin in ties. The U13s won two of their three games but prevailed in the tiebreaker with Quesnel.

The U18s split their two games with Prince George, but also won on the tiebreaker.



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Thom Barker

About the Author: Thom Barker

After graduating with a geology degree from Carleton University and taking a detour through the high tech business, Thom started his journalism career as a fact-checker for a magazine in Ottawa in 2002.
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