#3 Ranking, 2 All-Stars, 1 Weekend Aim: A PACWEST Championship

Mariners versus Falcons in the PACWEST semi-final

VIU Mariners men's soccer celebrates a goal
PACWEST All-Stars Shun Takano (#10) and Grayson Chalifoux (#20) hope to lead more goal celebrations at the PACWEST soccer championships. Photo: Northfield Photography
October 29, 2021

The third-seeded Mariners men's soccer team (4-4-1) heads into the PACWEST provincial championship this weekend needing two victories to earn gold and return to the CCAA national championship.

First up: a semi-final matchup with the Langara Falcons (4-3-2), a team that narrowly edged out the Mariners in the standings and had nearly identical goal differential stats: Langara was even at 13 goals for and 13 against, while VIU had 12 goals for to 14 against.

As well, the Falcons and Mariners had an even season series, with each team winning a game to go along with one tie. The Falcons won the most recent matchup, 3-0, on October 17.

VIU will be lead by two dynamic attackers, named this week as 2021 PACWEST All-Stars: Shun Takano (Chiba, Japan) and Grayson Chalifoux (Comox).

PACWEST All-Star Shun Takano

PACWEST All-Star Grayson Chalifoux

Takano, Chalifoux, and the Mariners take to the pitch for the provincial semi-final versus the Langara Falcons at Cunnings Field (Town Centre Park) in Coquitlam on Saturday, October 30 at 3:00 PM. Admission for spectators is free, and the tournament games will be broadcast live on PACWEST.TV.

The winner of the Mariners/Falcons matchup will advance to play the Douglas Royals in the provincial final at 3:00 PM on Sunday, October 31.

The championship winner will advance to represent the PACWEST at the 2021 CCAA Men's Soccer National Championship, hosted by Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary, AB, from November 10-13.