Playoff Push

> Men’s soccer provincials preview

Davie Wong
Sports Editor

 

he men went into the soccer

season with gold in their
eyes. Although that is still the
goal, the goal is now more of a
vision, distant and wavering.
The PACWEST soccer season
has not been kind for the men’s
soccer team. The team has been
plagued by persistent injuries,
suspensions, and discipline
issues throughout the season.

But let’s go back to the
beginning. It’s hard to believe
that less than two months ago,
we were just kicking off soccer
season. Under the leadership of
new captain Tony McCullough,
the men started their season
with a thrilling extra time win
against the Langara Falcons.
They followed it up with a loss
to the VIU Mariners and a win
against the Quest Kermodes, all
in the same week.

The next six games were
rather poor from the Royals.
With a record of 2-3-1 over the
span, the team had more than
their fair share of hard losses. A
6-o beating from the Capilano
Blues, and a 4-3 thrashing by
the league’s worst team were
the lowlights of this squad.

The last three games have
seen the squad really make an

effort to bounce into provincial
form. A record of 1-1-1 saw

the team secure their spot in
the playoffs and lock in their
seeding.

In terms of talent, this
year was key for the men, who
are really retooling. Rookie
Race Williams came 4th in
the scoring race, racking up
5 goals in 11 games. Fellow
Royals rookie Matteo Serka also
ranked in the top 10 in terms
of scoring, coming in 6th place
with 4 goals in 8 games.

This year was a huge step
away from the previous year’s
with fifth-year winger Isaac
Kyei filling in a more supportive
role, supplying through balls
and chances for the youngsters
instead of racking up the tallies.

Goalkeeping-wise, it was
always going to be impossible
to fill in the shoes of Marc
Mincelli, but Jared Horvath and
Patrick Dominguez have done
a solid job in his stead. Horvath
holds an average goals-per-go-
minutes of 1.63, and has played
in 8 games with 1 shutout, while
Dominguez holds an average of
2.56 and has played in 4 games.
The two are rookies and have
been training with, and under,
fourth-year goalkeeper Ricky
Gill.

Young talent will be a key
as the team looks towards the

Raging Cowboy rookies

> Cowboy rookies Prescott and Elliott off to record-breaking starts

Erik Pinto
Contributor

 

istorically, the Dallas

Cowboys have been known
as “America’s Team.” They are
tied for the most Super Bowl
appearances and have the third
most Super Bowl victories.
Without a doubt, they are a
franchise that is known asa
success.

However, in the past decade,
the Cowboys have struggled,
especially at the quarterback
position. For years, the team
revolved around their star
quarterback Tony Romo. When
Romo was hot, the entire team
was playing well. But Romo has
been inconsistent when he’s
been on the field, as injuries
have plagued him. Accordingly,
Romo entered the 2016 season
on the sideline. With their star
quarterback out, it appeared that
the Dallas Cowboys were going
to struggle out of the gate. That
is, until the Dallas Cowboys had
their rookies step up.

The first is Dak Prescott,
the Dallas Cowboys’ fourth
round pick in this past year’s
draft. Although Prescott was

only considered to play the role
of backup quarterback coming
into this season, the Louisiana
native began his NFL career
with multiple strong preseason
outings and was thus penciled
in as the starting quarterback
for week one. Despite being the
quarterback for such a renowned
franchise, there was no pressure
on Prescott whatsoever. Nobody
expected a rookie quarterback
to come in the league and
dominate, until he did just
that. Prescott has put up huge
numbers, even breaking the
record for most passes made by
a rookie quarterback without
having thrown an interception.
At running back for
Prescott’s offence is another
rookie named Ezekiel Elliott. In
the case of Elliott, expectations
were high. He was chosen by
the Cowboys as their first round
pick, and the fourth overall pick
in the recent draft. Ranked as
the best running back in his
draft class, there was a lot of
hype around this young stud
out of the University of Ohio
State. Since the very moment
he was picked, Ezekiel (also
known as Zeke) has lived up

Provincial Championships. Put
up against the VIU Mariners,
the Royals will need to be on
their top form to take a win
here. The Mariners have bested
the Royal two out of three times
this season. Both of them have

to the hype, and then some.
Elliott has recorded 703 rushing
yards through six weeks, which
is more than the total rushing
yards for 25 different teams.
Forget incredible, these numbers
are record breaking. When asked
if his teammate Elliott could
reach 2,000 yards, star wide
receiver Dez Bryant told the
Star-Telegram “Yeah, | believe it.
Two thousand or more. That’s
my prediction.” Considering
the record amongst rookie
running backs for most yards is
1,808, that is an incredibly bold
prediction. And considering that
most NFL running backs have a
hard time breaking 1,500 the way
the game is played now, that’s
even more incredible. But with
the pace he’s at, it’s definitely not
impossible.

Combined, these two
rookies have managed to get
the Cowboys off to a 5-1-0
start heading into a bye week.
A record that absolutely no
analyst, reporter, or professional
would’ve been able to predict
before the first week.

Expect these two rookies to
continue their success and thrive
in the NFL for years to come.

TT oe Ta
4st 4 J i

PT esata

———

 

been at home.

Although the playoffs will
not be at the Royal’s home,
it will still be in the Lower
Mainland. Hosted by Capilano
University, the two teams will
meet up this coming weekend

Photo by Davie Wong

 

to do battle at the Burnaby Lake
Sports Complex.

A win means that the
Royals will have an opportunity
to compete at the National
Championships. A loss means
another chance for bronze. The
Mariners are no pushovers, and
the Royals need to focus on
them to compete.

One of the keys for the
Royals this season is mental
momentum. When scoring
first, the Royals almost never
lose. When getting scored on
first, the team seems to deflate
and almost surrender. While
that has been a project to
correct throughout the season,
and there have been signs of
success, when the pressure
really pours on during playoffs,
it'll be an opportunity to
showcase whether or not the
team can hold up. That being
said, the solution could just be
to score first.

Still, that happened the
last time the two teams met,
and the Mariners still came out
ahead. However, this time, the
Royals will be fielding a full
roster for the first time since
the beginning of the season. No
suspensions, no injuries, and no
discipline issues. The Royals are
ready to pour it on. Let’s just see
if the Mariners sink or swim.

Photo via IB Times