Royals claim best regular
soccer season records

» Women’s and men’s teams both clinch first seed

Davie Wong
Sports Reporter

L has been quite the dramatic
season for both Royals soccer
teams this year. Coming into

say with confidence that both
squads would take first place in
the regular season, yet as the
season comes to a close, that is
exactly where both teams stand.

For both teams, having
the best regular season record
is but a step towards the
goal of winning provincials.
Nonetheless, both teams should
be proud of the effort and skill
that they have displayed so far.

The women’s team clinched
first seed on Saturday after a
thrilling 3-0 win over Vancouver
Island University (VIU). Both
Danae Harding and Marni
McMillan chipped in to cap off
their stellar seasons. They co-
lead the league with 9 goals in 15
games, sweeping away the rest
of the competition. Much of the
team’s success has come at the
hands of these two’s finishing
prowess.

But no one can talk about

: the women’s success without
: talking about the spectacular
: play of goalkeeper Rebecca

: Mainardi and the defensive

: unit in front of her. Mainardi
: has been amazing for the
this season, almost no one could :

Royals, tallying 7 shutouts in 3

: games. Likewise, the defensive
: core of the Royals has been :
: outstanding. The team has been :
: able to keep the number of goals :
: allowed to 10 goals in 15 games. :

The women end their

: season with a record of 10-3-2,
: with three points separating

: them from VIU. They play the
: Kwantlen Eagles next week in
: the playoffs.

Much like the women, the

: men’s team has also had much
: success in their season. They

: also clinched their spot at the
: top of the table this weekend.

: They played a hard game

: against VIU on Saturday and

: drew a tie. A loss by VIU on

: Sunday secured the Royals the
: first seed going into playoffs.

Isaac Kyei led the team in

: goals with 6 in 15 games, which
: kept him among the league

: leaders. The Royals also had

: two other players amongst the

: top 13 scorers in the conference;
: Yassin Essa had four goals in

: the season and Nicholas Pineda
: Graham had three.

: Like the women, the men

: also had a strong defensive

: unit. Both goaltenders had

: remarkable seasons for the

 

Royals, with Mark Mincieli

: being one of the best in the

: conference. They allowed 15

: goals in 15 games, keeping an
: average of 1 goal a game in

> a conference where offence

: reigned supreme.

The men end their season

Photo via Douglas College Student Services on flickr

: with a record of 7-3-5 and 26

: points. They are tied in points

: with VIU but due to an earlier

: win during the season between
: the both teams, the Royals take
: the first seed. They look to

: play KPU next week during the
: playoffs.

 

Douglas volleyball off to good start

» Men and women looking confident two weeks in

Davie Wong
Sports Reporter

A: the soccer season begins
to wind down, the volleyball
season begins to start up. The
first two weeks have been
extraordinary for the Royals.

On Saturday, October 24, the

week with a 3-0 win against the
University of the Fraser Valley
(UFV) at home. The women also
had a 2-0 week, beating UF V 3-1
earlier in the evening, leaving
both the men’s and women’s
squads undefeated at home.
That record came into
jeopardy for the men on Friday

and took them to five sets.

The team bounced back after
dropping the fourth set 25-23
to win in the fifth 15-8. It was

a hard challenge for the Royals
team that has looked dominant
to date.

The beast that was UFV
looked much tamer the next
day as the Royals executed
beautifully, taking the game
3-0. Coach Brad Hudson viewed
his team’s victory on Saturday
more as a return to form than
anything else. “Yesterday, |

: think we just weren't invested

: emotionally in what we were

: doing. We kind of just showed

: up to show up. Today I thought
: you saw a much more intent :
: from a group that wasn’t pleased :
: with how they played yesterday
: and wanted to show themselves
: a little better’.

men capped off their second 2-0 :

Meanwhile, the women’s

: team also had a very successful
: weekend. They bounced back

: from their loss in week one to

: Capilano, where they played

: hard and looked equal to their
: opponent. Playing against

> the mid-ranked Cascades, the

: Royals came together well,

: handing UFV a 3-0 loss on
night as UFV came out swinging :

Friday, followed by a 3-1 loss

: on Saturday. The team seemed
: much more improved from last
: week and only seemed to get

: better as the sets went on.

Coach Kyra Iannone had

: this to say about her team’s

: effort: “Our goal was to stay

: undefeated at home and we

: accomplished that. After our

: loss we talked about being

: mentally tough and being able

: really good for the girls to go
: out there after a loss and bounce :
: back and make some key plays”.

a)

She believes the girls can

: . an : use the momentum from this
: to push through it. | think it was :

: week and push through the
: competition in the coming
: weeks.

Catch the teams next week

: as they play the College of the
: Rockies Avalanche in back-to-
: back home games on Saturday
: and Sunday. The women’s games :

 

Photo by Davie Wong

: start at 6 p.m. on Saturday and
: 11a.m. on Sunday, while the

: men’s are at 8 p.m. andip.m.

: respectively.