Men's soccer preview: October 2

> Heading past silver

Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

t’s going to be an exciting
week for the men’s soccer
team. Heading into week four of
PACWEST soccer action, the men
are coming off an exhilarating
win against the VIU Mariners.
Well, actually, they're coming
off a tough blowout against the
Quest Kermodes, but I think they
would like to forget that game.
Other than the Kermodes
bump, the men have looked
fantastic in the second quarter
of the season. The team has gone
1-1-1 in the last two weeks of play,
and has scored their way into the
win column. Offensively, the year
has been quite explosive for the
men. The team has scored five
goals in three games, which is
quite the benchmark.

In particular, the men have
had great success scoring off set
pieces and scoring early. Three
of their last five goals have come
off of set pieces, with two off of
direct free kicks. The last time
the Royals clashed against the
Blues, it was a tight game all the
way until the end, and the Blues
gave the Royals very little to work
with. However, one of the two
goals the Royals did score was
off of a free kick, so that will bea
key for them for sure. Going into
the game, the team will have to
be ready for an intense physical
match.

Defensively, the team has
been rather lackluster. Perhaps
that’s just the Quest game
dragging the stat line down,
but no matter the case, defence
is something they will have
to address. It’s unlikely that

coaching staff will allow Sunday’s
breakdown against Quest to go
unaddressed, but it’s likely that
every team in the PACWEST

will be looking over that game
footage and dissecting the Royals’
defensive mistakes. The team will
need to patch up their holes, and
they'll need to patch them up
quickly.

The Blues have been ona hot
streak to start the season. Their
last game against the Langara
Falcons resulted in a 4-0 score
for the Blues. The team just has
everything clicking. They’ve
scored 14 goals in 5 games and
have only allowed goals in 2 of
them. They are statistically the
best team in the league, and the
Royals will need to be in top form
once again to challenge them.

However, the Royals do
already have a foot up on them.

    

The Douglas College squad is the
only team the Blues have yet to
beat, and that may be something
the team can leverage if they get
ahead of them early. It can also
be a double-edged sword, as

Men's soccer review: September 24-25

> A fishy finish

Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

Ge into this weekend,
nothing was on the minds

of the men’s soccer team more
than revenge. The team had a
chance to redeem themselves this
weekend against their week-one
loss to the VIU Mariners on home
turf. Now the visiting team, the
Royals were more than eager to
play the spoiling role.

As per standard, the Royals
started the game on the up.
Pressuring the Mariners with
concise passing and controlled
aggression, the team made
themselves known to the VIU
crowd around the 22-minute
mark. One of the Royals’
specialties is set pieces, and the
Mariners gifted a beautiful look
on a bad tackle that gave the team
a free kick. Set-piece expert Mark
Baldisimo stepped up to take the
shot and launched a gorgeous
looker that had the entire Royals
bench on their feet. The cheering
would ensue shortly after as the
ball sailed past an astonished
Marinet’s goalkeeper, and gave
the team the lead that they so
eagerly desired.

While the VIU team
questioned the decision to gift
a free kick, they kept their lips
tight when the referee gifted a
very questionable early shower to
a Royal. A straight red card saw
the Royals limited to 10 men, but
the team held their lead until half
time.

Despite being outnumbered,
the Royals were determined to
show the Mariners that they
were definitely not outgunned.
Coming out in the second half,

the team showed that the best
defence was a solid offence. No
other play highlighted the Royals’
individual skill better than
rookie forward Race Williams’
fantastic strike halfway through
the second. On the counter
attack, Williams dribbled his
way through three defenders and
juked out the goalkeeper to slam
home the Royals’ second of the
game.

With a safe lead, the Royals
sat back and let the Mariners
barrage them with pressure.
However, stalwart was the Royals

 

 

 

 

 

defence, and the Mariners only
barely managed to tuck one
away in the dying breathes of
the second half: That goal was
all the team could settle for as
the visiting Royals brushed off
the man disadvantage and stole a
game from their island rivals.
The next day saw them on
the road again against the Quest
Kermodes. Fresh off an eight day
break, the Kermodes spent the
entire week preparing to take on
the best of the Royals. However,
the best of the Royals never
showed up. Some of them got

 

lost in traffic, while others were
left on the Island. At least, that’s
what the team looked like on
the field. The Kermodes struck
quick and savagely, scoring in the
opening 15 minutes. They would
tuck another one away for the
quick double volley, and suddenly
the Royals found themselves on
the back-heel. The Kermodes
would push the visiting team over
completely by finishing a third
goal before heading off into half
time.

Safe to say, coaches Robby
and Paul were not too happy

 

Photo by Davie Wong

the Blues will likely be hungry
to take three points off of the
Royals. Either way, the game will
be an epic clash with National
contentions definitely in sight.

Photograph by Davie Wong

about the team’s play. The team
got more than an earful from
their coaches and set about the
second half looking to right the
opening half. The Royals would
eventually get there with Quinn
Dawson tucking away a header off
a set piece to bring the team that
much closer. However, his tally
would be in vain as all it would do
was deny the Kermodes a clean
sheet. The team would walk away
from the game with a score of

3-1 for the Kermodes, and three
points from the weekend.