Nine members of the X-Men soccer team will be competing for the Nova Scotia Soccer League premier men's title this coming weekend with the XFC team based out of Antigonish, N.S. Their playoff appearance marks the first time a men's team from the Highland region of Nova Scotia has qualified for the Tier 1 championship since 1994.
Current X-Men on the XFC roster include Randy Ribeiro, Mark Harpur, Serge Dossou, Steve Rodenhizer, Mitch George, Max Maund, Brien Pattenden, Pieter Heerschop, and Jordan Roberts. In addition, the squad is populated with StFX alumni Mira Novak, Kieran Gilfoy, Andrew MacDonald, Brock Fraser and Brandon Dort. Novak also acts as player/coach for the team.
The XFC soccer club provides high quality training for the X-Men throughout the summer, along with the alumni and local players, plus some players from the Highland district which incorporates Antigonish, Pictou, New Glasgow and Truro.
The XFC Tier 1 men's squad, finished the season with an 8-5-4 record in fourth place in the ten-team league, competing May through August across the province. They will face third place Suburban FC (10-5-2) in the quarter-finals this coming Saturday, August 17th at 6:30 pm in Halifax (Mainland North). Halifax Dunbrack (10-2-5, 2nd place) and Halifax City (12-1-3, 1st place) will play in the earlier quarter-final at 4:00 pm. Current X-Man Jamie Tibbo and recent X graduate Josh MacIntyre compete for Halifax City.
The winner of the XFC-Suburban game will advance to the semifinals against the loser of the other quarter-final. The semifinal match is slated for Sunday, August 18th at 6:30pm, also in Halifax. The championship game will take place Tuesday, August 20th at 6:30. Both the semifinal and final will be broadcast on EastLink Television. The top two teams will qualify for the national championship in Halifax this October.
Coach Nova, also an associate coach with the X-Men and X-Women squads, comments, "We have accomplished our goal of providing quality training environment for the players who need to be ready for the varsity season."
"Making the playoffs is a bonus for all the hard work they put in and we will go into the tournament with the desire to get as far as possible. As we have experienced throughout the season we cannot control the outcome, but only the performance, and that is what we will focus on this weekend – playing the best we can, giving us the best possible chances to advance to the final game."
"We are hoping that this year's success will attract more players to stay around Antigonish in the summer, because they will see the result of the hard work we accomplished. At the same time, we also hope it will influence young soccer players and encourage them to work toward reaching this level of play."
Novak went on to comment on the importance for youth players from the Highland district to believe that they can play at this highest level of competition. The XFC premier men's team tries to incorporate U16 and U18 players in their roster to give them the opportunity to experience the highest level of club soccer in Nova Scotia.
Some of the StFX varsity players have been coaching XFC youth teams this summer, and according to Novak, "have done a fantastic job developing these young players and serving as role models for them."
"We truly believe that through our programs we can make difference in the community, and we feel the responsibility to provide the region with these programs."
Some of the accomplishments of the XFC youth teams include having players representing Nova Scotia at the provincial level (U13-U16), as well as a European trip for the U17 girls team to Europe this summer.