Skip to content

UFV Soccer Season Preview

Women’s Soccer season preview: Lofty goals for accomplished group

*             *             *             *             *

2015 Canada West season overview

Regular season record: 8-4-2, 3rd West Division

Post-season record: 0-1, lost in CW quarter-finals

Offence: 32 goals, 2nd in CW

Defence: 20 goals against, 8th in CW

Awards: Tristan Corneil, CW first team all-star

Returning stat leaders:F Monika Levarsky (7 goals, 2 assists)F Gurneet Dhaliwal (6 goals, 4 assists) M Brittney Zacharuk (5 goals, 5 assists) GK Kayla Klim (6 wins, 3 shutouts)

*             *             *             *             *

The University of the Fraser Valley women’s soccer team brings a talented roster into Canada West action this season as they seek another trip to the CIS national championship.

They open their conference schedule on Friday against their local rivals, the Trinity Western Spartans, with a 5:30 p.m. kickoff at MRC Sports Complex, Field 4.

Head coach Rob Giesbrecht, who has guided the Cascades to two national championship tourneys (2010 and 2014) in six previous years at the helm, waved goodbye to two-thirds of his outstanding backline (Dayle Jeras and Jade Palm) and the 2015 CIS assists leader (Shelby Beck) at the end of last season.

But he’s got a lot of talent returning to a squad which spent seven out of 10 weeks in the national rankings last year.

“I think we’re going to compete with the best teams in the country,” Giesbrecht said. “Our goal is to return to the national championships and be successful there. We know that to do that will be extremely difficult, but I believe we’re capable of beating anybody in our division, our conference and the nation. However, because we play in the toughest division and the toughest conference, we know we have to be at our best all the time. If we can find that level of consistency and push our performance to our max, it’s going to be a very good year.”

Fifth-year keeper Kayla Klim is among the best at her position in the conference, and she’ll be playing behind a new-look defence led by fellow senior Tristan Corneil, a Canada West first team all-star last season.

Brittney Zacharuk and Sunayna Samra will ignite the offence from the central midfield, with veteran standouts Danica Kump, Karlee Pedersen and Amanda Carruthers speeding down the wings. Holding midfielder Kara Delwo, a Canada West first team all-star in 2014, is working her way back into the lineup after knee surgery.

Up front, third-year striker Monika Levarsky (seven goals in 2015) and sophomore Gurneet Dhaliwal (six goals) form a dangerous partnership for a team which finished second in the conference in goals (32) last season.

WEEKEND PREVIEW

Cascades vs. Trinity Western Spartans, Friday, Sept. 2, 5:30 p.m.

Friday’s UFV-TWU clash is significant on a couple of fronts. It’s the first Canada West regular season game to be held at the Cascades’ new home pitch (MRC Sports Complex, Field 4), and it’s also the curtain-raiser for the entire conference schedule. There’s just one other Canada West women’s soccer game this weekend (UBC at UVic on Saturday), and the rest of the teams get underway next week.

Befitting the Pacific Division’s reputation as the toughest in the nation – the eight-team grouping has produced 10 of the past 14 national champions – the Cascades get a stiff test right off the bat against Trinity Western, last year’s CIS silver medalists.

The Spartans are an offensive powerhouse – they were the only team in the conference to out-score the Cascades in 2015, racking up 37 goals. Among their returning offensive catalysts are Krista Gommeringer, Rachel Hutchinson and Seina Kashima.

“It’s going to be a good gauge to see where we’re at,” Giesbrecht said. “We have a lot of respect for our cross-Valley rivals, but we’re entering the game fearing nothing, and if we play the way we want to play we give ourselves a great chance to be successful. I think Friday night is all about playing the game to our strengths and having some of our key players be difference-makers.”

left side background header

Men’s Soccer season preview: Cascades aim to continue ascent

*             *             *             *             *

2015 Canada West season overview

Regular season record: 5-4-3, 3rd Pacific Division

Post-season record: 2-1, CW bronze medalists

Offence: 20 goals, 8th in CW

Defence: 19 goals against, 7th in CW

Awards: Tammer Byrne, CW second team all-star

Returning stat leaders:F James Najman (2 goals, 4 assists)M Connor MacMillan (3 goals, 1 assist) F Daniel Davidson (3 goals, 1 assist) GK Alex Skrzeta (5 wins, 3 shutouts)

*             *             *             *             *

The University of the Fraser Valley men’s soccer team, winners of two conference bronze medals in the past three seasons, are eying a return to the Canada West podium in 2016 – and to take a step beyond and earn the program’s first CIS championship berth.

They begin that journey in earnest this week, as they kick off the Canada West regular season at home. The Cascades host the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Friday, and the UBC Okanagan Heat on Saturday. Both games kick off at 8 p.m. at MRC Sports Complex, Field 4 – the Cascades’ new home pitch.

Second-year head coach Tom Lowndes has a veteran crew at his disposal this season, headlined by a quartet of fifth-year players – forward James Najman, midfielders Connor MacMillan and Justin Sekhon, and defender Sahib Phagura – and a 2015 Canada West second team all-star in midfielder/defender Tammer Byrne.

“I’ve had the privilege of working with these veteran players in some capacity for four years, and to see them grow and develop has been exciting,” Lowndes enthused. “They’ve come in hungry and want to achieve something this season, and with the support of the other returnees and the rookies, it’s the deepest our squad’s ever been.”

The Cascades will be adjusting to life without star right back Colton O’Neill, who finished his fifth and final year of eligibility last season. Byrne leads a reconfigured backline which also features Phagura, fourth-year standout Sukhjit Dhaliwal and rookie Ryan Donald, who has impressed throughout the preseason. They’ll be playing in front of keeper Alex Skrzeta, who is entering his second full season as starter and posted five wins and three clean sheets in 2015.

Attacking midfielder MacMillan is coming off an outstanding playoff run – he racked up three goals and an assist in three post-season matches, matching his output from the entire regular season, and he’ll be counted on as an offensive catalyst once again. Michael Mobilio and Gurmaan Jhaj also figure prominently into Lowndes’s midfield plans. Sekhon and Daniel Davidson provide attacking threats out wide in support of strikers Najman and Elijah Sampson.

WEEKEND PREVIEW

Cascades vs. Thompson Rivers WolfPack (1-1-0, 4th in Canada West), Friday, Sept. 2, 8 p.m.

Cascades vs. UBC Okanagan Heat (1-0-1, T2nd in Canada West), Saturday, Sept. 3, 8 p.m.

The Canada West men’s soccer regular season actually began last week, but the Cascades had an opening-week bye.

Both of their upcoming opponents are coming off impressive 2016 debuts at home against the UBC Thunderbirds and Victoria Vikes. UBC and UVic were picked to finish first and second, respectively, in the conference’s preseason coaches poll, but ran into stiff opposition in the B.C. Interior.

UBC Okanagan edged UVic 1-0 on Friday, then battled reigning conference champ UBC to a 1-1 draw on Saturday to claim four of a possible six points. The WolfPack, meanwhile, led the T-Birds 1-0 in the second half before succumbing 2-1 on Friday, but bounced back to thump the Vikes 4-0 the next day behind a hat trick from Justin Donaldson.

Neither UBCO nor TRU qualified for the playoffs last season, but the events of the past week extinguished any chance the Cascades will take them lightly.

“The league’s getting stronger and stronger every year, top to bottom, and TRU and UBCO both proved that,” Lowndes observed. “There’s no easy games in Canada West. You’ve got to go into each game prepared to do the things you need to do to be successful.”

Against TRU, that involves keeping the WolfPack offence – led by Donaldson and 2015 Canada West all-star Ryan Glanville – under wraps.

“John (Antulov, WolfPack head coach) has done a good job of recruiting some quality players, and they work hard,” Lowndes said. “They’re very organized, very structured and dangerous on set pieces.”

Spencer Young and Luke Warkentin scored the goals for UBCO last weekend, while keeper Mitch McCaw posted a six-save shutout vs. UVic.

“Every year, they’re getting stronger and stronger,” Lowndes said. “They’re a very organized team, and they’ll look to give us some problems on the counterattack.”

Share This:

CFC Chilliwack FC

Valley and Canyon Dispatch

Chilliwack Jets

radiodon11@gmail.com fvn@shaw.ca 604 392 5834

abbyTV

Chill TV

Small Business BC

Community Futures

Unique Thrifting

On Key

Related Posts