© Sports the other press e fFlashGordon e dcsportseditor@yahoo.ca October 22, 2003 Flash Gordon Sports Editor Flash Gordon Sports Editor Thanksgiving weekends are usually associated with grudge matches in American Football. The CFL makes certain that the Canadian couch potatoes have a grid-iron game to watch on the holiday Monday. But really, who watches that stuff? Canadians have better things to do with their time...like play college soccer games in the boonies of the Okanagan Valley. Holidays are family time but for some reason, the Royals found themselves away from home. One might be inclined to give the league organizer a severe tongue-lashing for sending them on an inopportune road trip. The Okanagan University College Lakers had to suffer the wrath of a fired up Royals squad by taking two losses on their home turf. Suckers. The Royals rolled over the Lakers on Saturday putting five goals in the net. Leading the way was, Coquitlam native Sean Jimenez. He scored two goals in the victory and was the man of the match. Also contributing on offense was Matthew Ormerod and Devon Greenside. The team has begun to show that they aren't only a one player threat to score. Players like Jimenez have stepped up to show the Royals are a threat all over the field. A successful road trip for the boys suggests the team has gotten rid of a few “hiccups” as Head Coach Ormerod puts it. The hype around the Royals figured the league to be a cake-walk but after taking losses to teams like Capilano and Langara, the team had to regroup and show some resilience and composure. Now Ormerod says, “We're confident but not over-confident,” which is a good way to be with a berth in the BCCAA provincials locked up. The Lakers put on a slightly stronger perform- ance in the Sunday match-up but Royals goalie, Kris Johannson delivered them a scoreless donut. Mmm donuts. The weekend trip allowed Johannson to show his strength in goal and allow Andy Singh a much needed rest. Singh will return to the lineup against UCC and UCFV in the final league games before the provincial tournament. Devon Greenside was the man of the match for Sunday but both goals were scored by Emmanuel Ayiku. Despite the big wins, it proved to be a long tough weekend for the Royals who didn’t get back into town until midnight on Sunday. The Royals must get through UCC and UCFV on October 18 and 19. No doubt the Cascades will be looking for some measure of revenge against the Royals. When last they met, Douglas came out on top 7-3. Matt Ormerod had five goals in that win. Next week I will give you the run-down of last weekends games. Head Coach John Judd said he’s “happy with the outcome” of the weekend games. How could he not be? The Douglas women are now within spitting distance of a berth in the BCCAA provincial tournament. Two wins keep the Royals respectable. They must rise to the competition again for their final games versus UCC and UCFV. The play-by-play of the Saturday game had the Royals outplaying the OUC Lakers. However, OUC was the first team to capitalize on their opportunities. The Lakers took a 3-0 lead in the first half. Douglas managed to get on the scoreboard with a goal before half-time. Led by veterans Hilda Simon and Bronwyn Reelie, the Royals took the game away from the Lakers. Their veteran leadership has contributed a lot to the development of their rookie team- mates. One rookie who stepped up her play over the season has been midfielder Hayley Chueden. Chueden’s hustle is evident on the field and it provides inspiration to lift the team to another level. Sunday’s game against the Lakers showed fewer mistakes. The Royals allowed but one goal and rolled over the Lakers for a 4-1 victory. Looking ahead, the Royals need to get points by beating the UCC Sun Demons and the UCFV Cascades in their next games. “I think we have a very good chance against UCEV,” says Judd. Goalie Nicole Johannson returns after a month off due to injury. Judd will have to make a deci- sion about which one of the three goalies will play in the provincial tournament. Rotten Rattlers Reap Exhibition Win Women’s Basketball Flash Gordon Sports Editor Forgive me for my rotten titles, I do what I can. The Lions Den played host to another competitive basket- ball exhibition. From small town Alberta, Medicine Hat paid Douglas College a visit. Unfortunately, the Royals took a loss on home turf. In reflection, the Rattlers are not as talented a team as Douglas. Through no fault of their own, the Rattlers beat a more talented team. This begs the question, “Why did Douglas lose if they are in fact so talented?’ Plain and simple mental mistakes plagued the Royals through- out the contest. I was pleased to see Mel Trepannier in the starting lineup. In my last article reporting on the alumni exhibition, I ribbed her about lack of muscle. I should have said ‘lack of muscle relative to the behemoths she was matched up against.’ Against the Rattler front- court Trepannier rebounded well at both ends of the court. Forwards, Anna Rowinska and Brigitte O’Brien also were strong players for the Royals. Rowinska had the only blocked shot of the first half. Early on tentative defense allowed easy buckets for the visitors to take a lead. Positioning would be right but for some reason, their arms wouldn't reach out and snag easy passes or block the shots. Caitlin Zeiner and Anna Rowinksa did play well in the zone defense causing the Medicine Hat guards to turn the ball over. The intensity of the defense picked up throughout the half, and cut down the Rattler’s opportunities keeping the game close. However, consecutive turnovers kept the Royals from capitalizing and taking lead at the half. Douglas came out with a flurry of opportunities in the second-half of play. Three consecutive trips down the floor, they had what seemed to be easy opportuni- ties only they did not finish. Stephanie Hibbert, Brigitte O’Brien, and Tara McNeill all drove the lane hard forcing the Rattlers to foul. Douglas had numer- ous free throw opportunities although far too many http://www.otherpress.ca misses allowed the Rattlers to get away with mug- gings. At their own end, the Royals became more effective at playing help defense as the game went on. They caused more turnovers but full court pressure from the Rattlers held Douglas at bay offensively. Frustration reared its ugly head and players made uncharacteristic mistakes. Positives of this game Brigitte O’Brien showed her versatility. She has the height and strength but also has a lot of confidence handling the ball. O’Brien should be around the hoop more, forcing defenders to foul. Megan Lowrie played well at the point. She handles the ball really well. Medicine Hat’s guards had a diffi- cult time keeping up. Ed Lunn has done a great job of putting his team together. The talent and effort is there. Douglas is certainly looking forward to league play only a week away. Page 17