< Ks Sy Shis ibsue: Y Celebrate! (¥ A look at the NHL rule changes (YW Sport Shorts And more! It's along, hard road » Douglas College soccer teams developing as they transition through the season Michael Sopow Contributor he Douglas College Royals soccer teams began the weekend with both the men’s and women’s squads facing the number-one placed Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners on Saturday September 27, and finishing with the Capilano University Though the women’s team lost 5-0, coach Chris Laxton commented after Sunday’s didn’t reflect the true talent or mentality of the team: “Just some preventable defensive errors yesterday. I thought we actually kept the ball well. We just didn’t get in behind them. When you go down so big so early it’s tough to come back.” Sunday’s game was truly a completely different story. The women looked ready to play, they looked motivated, they wanted to win, and their desire proved itself with the results. The Royals set the pace early on witha goal from Hayley Melvin in the eighth : minute of the game. This boost : : of confidence and the Royals’ : eagerness to win led to many : successful tackles and allowed : Douglas College to dominate : the first half of the game. The : energy that flourished in the : first half was evidently carried : right over to the second half as : Marni McMillan scored a goal : in the 46th minute to give the : team a 2-0 lead and insurance until the final whistle. Blues on Sunday September 28. : The men’s team started : their Saturday with a very : close 1-0 loss to VIU, though ? on Sunday it was questionable game that he believed Saturday whether or not they started the : game with the same intensity : that they usually bring. “Hard : work is what we need. When : you're in tough you've gotta : battle your way through it. : : We’re just not putting the work : : in—getting outworked every : game,” said coach Paul Bahia. The Blues seemed to be : having most of the possession : and the majority of the : chances throughout the first : half. It seemed as though : something was missing from : the mindset of the Royals : players. They soon conceded : a goal in the 24th minute and : an unfortunate penalty just : before the halftime whistle in : the 45th—a flustered-looking : Douglas College simply trying : to figure out what they could : generate for the remainder of : the game. Douglas definitely flicked : a switch in the second half. : In the first couple of minutes, : it began as back-and-forth : play with chances happening : here and there, but then : began the transition to a more : Douglas College-controlled : game. In the 78th minute, : Simrin Rattanpal brought : hope back for Douglas as he : connected for the Royal’s first : goal of the game. Though in : the next minute following the : goal, the Blues managed to : score another goal from a fast break, leaving the score at 3-1. : This unexpected goal did not : diminish the Royals’ newfound : spirits as they continued their : efforts and managed to have : Spencer Deboice score a goal : off of a free kick in the 83rd : minute. Unfortunately, even : though they played hard to : the end they could not tie up : the game in the remaining : minutes. 3-2 Capilano. Know the score? Contact: Sports Editor M sports@theotherpress. ca www theotherpress.ca Can Manchester United save its season? » Two embarrassing losses leave fans asking questions Patrick Vaillancourt Columnist ven with a star-studded lineup skippered by English football legend Wayne Rooney, into this season of Barclay’s Premier League. Fans are furious and the seems to be getting impatient with the team. Without the prospect of Champions League football for the club, Manchester United had to spend a lot of money on its recent signings, trying to lure top talent to the storied club. The club recently went ona flurry of expensive, high- profile signings, spending over 150-million Euros (or $213.6 million) on soccer superstars such as Radamel Falcao, Daley Blind, Luke Shaw, and most notably, Angel Di Maria. Despite the new signings, Manchester United went down : in defeat recently to Leicester, a : team which was only promoted : to the Premiership this year : after spending the last few years : in England’s second-tier. Having : Manchester United is stumbling : 3-1 lead in the second half, : : United conceded four goals in : a 20-minute span, causing the : team to lose the match. ownership group at Old Trafford : Earlier this month, : Manchester United was : humbled and humiliated at the : hands of MK Dons, a third-tier : team that decisively eliminated : the Red Devils from Capital One : : Cup contention, winning bya : score of 4-0. The mid-season transfer : window opens in January, and : no doubt Louis Van Gaal’s club : will be looking to acquire more : talent. It is heavily ramoured : that Cristiano Ronaldo, : currently playing for Real : Madrid in the Spanish league, : would like to return to his old : club and relive the glory days : in Manchester. However, critics : believe that United’s troubles : do not lie in the midfield or up : front, but rather in a defensive : Capacity. In the team’s five Premier : League appearances this : season, not a single outing saw : Manchester United play as a : cohesive collection of players. : On paper, United should be : crushing its opposition and : scoring goals at will—yet : its defensive play has been : a consistent vulnerability. Despite keeping a clean sheet : in the team’s convincing victory : against QPR on September 14, : vulnerabilities on the backend : were apparent. To suggest that Ronaldo : returning to Old Trafford : would save the club is to deny : the team’s key problem: it isn’t : playing as a team. Ronaldo : would be yet another star to join : : the troubled club, but it would : not change anything unless the : team can zero-in on the key : reasons that see it sit in 12th : place in the Premier League. : season, it will need to turn : things around before the mid- : season transfer window opens, : and it will have to do it with the : players currently available. The club recently went on a flurry of expensive, high- profile signings, spending over 150-million Euros (or $213.6 million) on soccer superstars such as Radamel Falcao, Daley Blind, Luke Shaw, and most notably, Angel Di Maria. If the club is to save its