news // no. 4 theotherpress.ca Sports virgin: Men's soccer review » Royals lose royally in a bitter feud with Mariners Jessica Berget Editor-in-Chief With no prior experience, knowledge of the terms, rules, or regulations of the world of sports, I attempt to cover the local games of the Douglas College Royals. This week: Men’s soccer. [eerste both men’s and women’s sports; they both have enjoyable aspects. However, men’s sports has one thing that the women’s (in my brief experience so far!) often lacks: Yelling and fighting. And there was plenty of that in this week’s men’s soccer game against the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners. There was a heavy downpour minutes before the game began, perhaps as an omen of things to come. The Mariners scored their first two goals within the twenty minutes of the game starting. Not a great start for the Royals, as illustrated by the groans and curses from the crowd, but the faithful were hopeful for a comeback. The Royals tried desperately to gain control of the ball after the Mariners dominated the majority of the first half of the game. Douglas had a chance to gain some momentum when forward player Yianni Siafakas, attempted a goal but was thwarted by the Mariners goalie catching it. VIU dominated possession of the ball with the Royals struggling to gain control of the game. Douglas celebrated their first victory of the game 28 minutes into the first half when defence player Burhan Waisy bicycle-kicked the ball into the Mariner’s net. The game then stood at 3-1 for VIU. At this point the dark, gloomy clouds began to disperse and sun came through the field. Could this be a sign of good things to come? The end of the first half was signaled, and the Royals came into half-time obviously unhappy with the way the game was going. Beginning of the second half down two goals, the Royals had lot to prove. The pep talk their coach gave them during half-time must have inspired these boys because they brought it, and hard. The Royals managed to gain possession of the ball and put together some passes, bringing it over to the Mariners side of the field. After an impressive sliding kick from a Mariners player, there was a lot of back- and-forth for possession of the ball like a bitter child-custody battle, but with a lot more yelling. VIU attempted their fourth shot four minutes into the second period but it went way over the net. Both teams brought their absolute Livin on the EDGE >» What is EDGE and what does it do? Jessica Berget Editor-in-Chief his past week on September 12, 13, and 14, Douglas College hosted an even for first-year students called EDGE. Standing for Engage. Discover. Grow. Explore. This was a three-day event focusing on team-oriented activities that highlight the importance of community for students attending their first year of post- secondary education. First year students were to pay a $20 fee for three consecutive days of team-building fun, three meals and an EDGE t-shirt. According to the Douglas College website, “This event is meant to foster new relationships, welcome you to student life, build confidence, and help you feel more connected to the Douglas College community.” 2019 marks the seventh consecutive year EDGE has been in the college. It was created by the current Recreation and Wellness Coordinator at Douglas College, Anna Schachner. In an email interview with the Other Press, Schachner talks about why she felt the need to create such an event. “EDGE, originally FROSH was an event I came up with back in 2o12. I felt there was a gap, nothing really to transition students into college after New Student Orientation. When I was a student, I attended Leadership conferences and was an Ambassador for one of Canada’s largest Urban Adventure Race series called City Chase,” she explains. “The idea was to blend the leadership ‘campference’ style activities and bonding opportunities with fun, action packed team challenges and friendly competitions.” Schachner says she wanted to create a community and a sense of belonging for first year students and explains the goals she had for such an event. “The end goal was for students to meet others within the first or second week of classes, have a mentor (team leaders), and have an increased sense of belonging,” she said. —— hardest in the second half—illustrated by the many collisions between the two teams. Some were fine after colliding with other players, but others were immobilised for some time. Between the heated playing, the players yelling and cursing at each other, and the cheers and groans from the crowd, there was never a dull moment in this game. Douglas tried to bring up their score again with Siafakas, but he kicked the ball way over the net. There were some impressive passes between Armando Rodriguez and Joshua Penny, but VIU came to slay, not to play. Everyone held their breath when Siafakas made another goal attempt 18 minutes into the half, just barely “From this ‘community’ feeling [connected to others and the campus], our hope was to see an increased interest to be more involved on campus and join volunteer programs, events, and more. And, ideally help with student retention.’ One thing I wondered about the event was why such a community driven event be specifically made for first year students. “We didn’t have a lot of programs that were just for new students,” She explains. “It was also to reduce intimidation because all the new students are going through the Photo via Douglas College Royals missing while hitting the top post. Penny and Rodriguez were subbed for Taylor Richardson and Abdul Ali 21 minutes in, but it didn’t seem to make any difference. After struggling for the ball and the Royals goalie out of the net, the Mariners made their fourth goal half- way through the last period, much to the dismay of the Royals’ side of the crowd. There was almost a fifth goal made by the Mariners, but it just bounced off the top post. Richardson tried at the net but it was swiftly caught by Mariners goalie. The Royals couldn’t win this one in the last 10 minutes of the game but still played a great game with some awesome passes by Richardson, Ali, and Jaxon Bain. Photo by Billy Bui same transition experience and may feel intimidated with a lot of ‘senior’ students there. Also, at the time we didn’t have the funding or capacity to open it up to all students because we would be looking at an event for 400-500 students.” First year students who missed the event this year may not have another chance next year. However, for the future first years of Douglas College nervous about meeting new people, they can count on EDGE asa fun and helpful introduction into a post-secondary community.