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You re gonna hear them roar

» Douglas Royals start new season with win

Cheryl Minns

. Arts Editor
Marts
@theotherpress.ca

 

he Douglas College men’s

and women’s soccer teams
are off to a good start with solid
opening games at their home
field in Coquitlam. Facing off
against the Langara Falcons, the
Royals took a win and a tie on
September 3, along with a few
minor injuries.

The women gave their all in

opener for the first time in three
years. With skilled plays and
lots of time spent with the ball
near the Falcons’ net, the team
delivered some fierce offence,
strong defence, and a couple of
goals. They won 2-1.

“We're really happy with
our result, considering last year
we only had two wins,” said
team captain Tiffany O’Krane.
“Starting this season off witha
win isa really good step for us.’

The team had been
practising for four and a half
weeks in preparation for the
season, getting used to new
members of the team and

sharpening plays, so winning the really well. We have a good

: group of guys,’ said Dorian

: Colopisis. “We have a lot of

: good tools that could come

: together in the end and bring a
championship home.”

opener shows a lot of promise
for them.

“We have one goal this year:
to get to Nationals,’ O’Krane
said. “We're taking it game by
game. We’re definitely applying

Sam lam

We have one goal
this year: to get to
Nationals.

: everything we’ve been working
: on.

”

While the players did their

best in the game, there were still
: a few scrapes, falls, and fouls on
: both sides.

“We had a few calf cramps—

: nothing too major,’ O’Krane

: said. “There area few scratches

the game in hopes of winning an : on people's faces, but we battled
: through a lot today and we

: toughed it out.”

The men’s team opened

: with a 2-2 tie as both teams
: adjusted to the new season with
: some first-year players.

“The first 15 minutes were

: not that great,” said goalkeeper
: Ricky Gil. “We picked up

: afterwards and got some speed
going,”

The team soon brought an

aggressive game to the field as
; they began to find themselves.

Now the team’s goal is

to practice for the upcoming
: games and ultimately shoot fora
; championship.

“The team is actually gelling

» First openly gay defensive end lands in Dallas

Eric Wilkins

Assistant Editor

M assistant
@theotherpress.ca

‘i |
ichael Sam’s NFL career
may not be starting how

he wanted it to, but there is

one key fact: it is still going.

Sam was recently signed to the

Dallas Cowboys practice squad. :
The seventh-round pick of the :

St. Louis Rams was cut after
the pre-season—a pre-season
that saw him record u1 tackles
and three sacks.

The immediate fallout the

: NFL had to be afraid of when

: the Rams cut him was that

: people would scream bloody

: murder as they pointed to his

: sexuality and how that was

: obviously the main reason he

: was no longer with the team.

: Thankfully, the majority of the
: public has shown a little sense
: for once in considering the

: situation instead of making an
uniformed snap judgement.

: The fact of the matter was that
: Sam was always going to bea

: long shot to make the roster.

: Sure, he was drafted, but

: he was taken in the seventh

: round, 249th overall. Seventh
: rounders are hardly locks to

: make the team.

The fact that St. Louis was

: the organization that drafted
: him didn’t help matters either.
: Fora learning experience, the
: Rams were a great destination
: for Sam, but defensive end is

: a position of strength for the

: city better known for pretty

: much anything other than

: football. With all-pro ends

: Robert Quinn and Chris Long
: anda slew of quality backups,
: namely William Hayes, it

: was an uphill battle from the

: start. Despite his impressive

: stat-line, Sam was outplayed

: by undrafted rookie Ethan

: Westbrooks.

Know the score?

Contact: Sports Editor

M sports@theotherpress. ca

www theotherpress.ca

The few who are trying

: to proclaim Sam’s release as

: unjust are the types who don't
: really follow football—they

: just hopped on to support

: Sam. Support is wonderful, but
: doing anything blindly never

: goes well. While Westbrooks

: didn’t put up more sacks,

: stats aren't everything. He’s a

: more well-rounded player who
: consistently showed better.

: Simple as that. If stats are

: what matter though, he can

: win there as well. Westbrooks’
: Pro Football Focus overall

: defensive rating was 15.0 and

: led the NFL. The second-rated
: player was graded at 10.2. For

By Cheryl Minns

 

: comparison’s sake, Sam graded
: out to o.6—good enough to be
: the 48th 4-3 defensive end out
: of 126. Any questions?

Although responsible

: for cutting him, Rams’ coach
: Jeff Fisher was clear about

: his opinion on Sam’s ability:

: “I believe he can play in this

: league.”

Coming from a man who

: knows a thing or two about

: defence, Sam has to be happy
: about that one. He may never
: blossom into the player many
: hope he will become one day,
: but if one thing’s for sure, it’s
: that he’s going to give it his

: best shot.