2009 Canada West preview

EDMONTON - Canada West men's soccer gets underway with four matches on Saturday, Sept. 12 and another four the following day. With only one berth available besides host Trinity Western, top schools face a daunting challenge to grab a playoff spot, stay healthy and peak at the right time.

Defending CIS national champion Trinity Western is once again loaded with talent, including two-time all-Canadian defender Paul Hamilton (Calgary), CIS tournament all-star keeper Andrew Kowan, all-star forward Daniel Lowen and 2007 CW all-star goalie Andrew Fink. The Spartans no longer have the services of all-star Adrian Kekec, a key member of the offensive corps.

In Victoria, the Vikes were riding high heading to 2008 Nationals, but fell flat as the top seed to eventual champion York. Canada West all-stars McFarlane, goalkeeper Dan Kilpatrick, defender Patrick Nelson and midfielder Sam Wingham are all back for head coach Bruce Wilson, looking for another shot at the top prize.

The 2008 UBC Thunderbirds lost just once during the regular season and once more in the post-season. It all amounted to a disappointing third-pace finish in Canada West, no trip to Nationals and, no doubt, a little revenge on their minds entering 2009. Despite the loss of solid keeper Srdjan Djekanovic, all-Canadian Graham Smith, along with all-stars Matt Allard and Jason Gill help bolster a veteran roster that will make waves again this season.

The Alberta Golden Bears continue to make the post-season year after year. Without the scoring of all-stars John Konye, Ammon Hoefs and Daniel Nielsen, the Bears are in tough to make headway in the post-season. Brett Colvin, who tied for tops in Canada West with 13 points in 2008, along with Harman Braich and Matt Strelow, are expected to provide the offence, while goalkeeper Jaswinder Gil is back as the last line of defence.

The Saskatchewan Huskies and UFV Cascades are edging closer to the top four and could sneak in with an upset or two and a healthy roster, but grabbing a berth at Nationals seems unlikely. Returning Canada West all-stars, leading scorers and Team Canada FISU members Jerson Barandica-Hamilton and Josh Northey stand out for the Huskies again in '09, while the Cascades are led by seven-goal man Craig Robinson, but without 2008 all-star Jordan Langelaar and may find it hard to improve on a sixth-place finish.

Try as they might, the Calgary Dinos and Lethbridge Pronghorns simply have a long way to climb before making solid strides in the tough Canada West conference. Solid fourth-year 'keeper J.P. Crescenzi can expect a lot of action for the Dinos, but scoring may be at a premium for a team that averaged exactly one goal per game a year ago. Lethbridge lacks offence and defence, scoring a league-low seven times in 2008, while surrendering 36, double the league average. Jaycee Neufeld, the 'Horns' leading scorer, is back to help on "o", while Michael O'Brien is also back.

Alberta Golden Bears
2008 conference record: 5-3-6 (4th)
2008 CW tournament: 0-2 (4th)
Last CW title: 1998
Last CIS title: 2006

EDMONTON - "The goal, as always, is to compete well in Canada West play, make the playoffs and earn a shot at the national championship."

Those are the words Alberta Golden Bears soccer head coach Len Vickery preaches before the beginning of every season.

Despite entering his 25th year along the Alberta sidelines and boasting a 149-58-55 conference record, Vickery approaches every season the same.

Compete hard in the toughest conference in Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's soccer, earn your way into the playoffs and fight for the right to compete for the national championship.

The Canada West conference has claimed five of the last six national championships handed out, so the fact that Vickery and Bears have made the conference post-season for the last eight straight years means that his approach is working.

The program has twice won the CIS trophy under Vickery, in 2003 thanks to a double-OT win over Saint Mary's, and again in 2006 in Edmonton with a 1-0 win over the Trinity Western Spartans.

After recording a 5-3-6 record last year and finishing second in goals for, the Bears were relegated to the conference bronze medal game and bounced from CIS contention.

In the off-season Vickery said goodbye to starting players John Konye, Ammon Hoefs and Daniel Nielsen. Konye finished with 21 career goals in the Evergreen and Gold, which puts him second all-time in team history, and he was named to the 2009 Summer Universiade Team Canada squad. Nielsen was key midfield starter his entire career and Hoefs finished second in team scoring in 2008, with five goals.

In order to stay competitive Vickery, who has five Canada West Coach of the Year awards and one CIS COY, brought in 10 recruits to off-set those losses.

Look for former Saskatchewan Huskie Alvaro Campos to step into the midfield for Alberta, while CIS rookies Igi Broda, Osmo Bimba and Dean Northover could all make the starting roster this season.

Striker Brett Colvin and goalkeeper Jas Gill lead the returning starter class, while Harman Braich, Matt Strelow, Zenon Markevych and Derek Degroot are all part of Alberta's returning crew of 14 players.

UBC Thunderbirds
2008 conference record: 8-1-5 (2nd)
2008 CW tournament: 1-1 (3rd)
Last CW title: 2001
Last CIS title: 2007

VANCOUVER - After allowing a conference-low seven goals-against last season, the Thunderbirds' core of lock-down defenders - Graham Smith, Joey Loreth, Jason Gill and Matthew Allard - will be back with the team this year hoping to repeat that success. Meanwhile, the rest of the squad looks to produce a little more offence as the 'Birds hope to avenge last year's short-lived playoff run which ended with a 2-1 penalty-kick loss to Trinity Western in the conference semifinals.

Smith, who was a first team all-Canadian last year, takes over the full captaincy of the team this season, after he shared captain's duties with fellow all-Canadian Nick Poole last season. The 'Birds lost Poole and all-Canadian keeper Srdjan Djekanovic, however, UBC head coach Mike Mosher is optimistic about the team's ability to fill the void left by those departures.

"I think we are quite deep in midfield, which is a bonus for us with the strength of our back four," said Mosher. "We lose Srdjan in net but we have two fifth-year keepers in Elliot Usher and Nikolai Matni who have looked good so far in camp and are going to be hungry for the opportunity to be a starter."

While things are shaping up very nicely once again at the back, much of the focus will be up front this season, as the 'Birds look to improve their attack, which finished fifth in Canada West last year with 19 goals in 14 games.

After the departure of all-Canadian striker Steve Frazao at the end of the 2007-08 campaign, the T-Birds were left without a proven option on attack last year, but with a wealth of young talent to draw from and another year of experience under their belts, things are looking up for the UBC offence as the new season approaches.

"Marco Visintin played up front last year, which was not his natural position," said Mosher. "But this year he will play in midfield where he is at his best. Tyson Keam has looked very good in the preseason and I think we will see some opportunities and goals coming from him."

One player who has proven himself capable of big things on offence already is Jorge Angel-Mira, who led the T-Birds with eight goals in 2007-08 en route to winning Canada West rookie of the year honours. He managed just three goals last season, however, and will be looking to regain his scoring touch this year.

Calgary Dinos
2008 conference record: 2-8-4 (7th, missed playoffs)
Last CW title: 1980
Last CIS title: none

CALGARY - A year removed from a decidedly sub-par Canada West season, the Calgary Dinos are set to try their luck with a new coaching staff, some new experienced teammates and a very challenging schedule.

Ken Price takes over the head coaching position for the Dinos soccer squad in 2009 and looks to bring new energy and focus to a program that has not won a conference title in nearly 30 years. Price will be tested early, but sees the potential in his new team.

"We start the season with a tough schedule (back-to-back road trips in British Columbia), but if we can get some early wins and if we can avoid the injury bug we think we can compete for a Canada West playoff spot this year," said Price, who took over for Andy Gibbs in early 2009.

"The senior players have responded well to the changes that have gone on so far and we have some good pieces to work with," he continued. "Our goal is to get to the Canada West finals, and in order to get there, we need to be competitive in each game that we play this season."

The Dinos return a very strong goalkeeper in J.P. Crescenzi (4th year, Calgary), who ranked high statistically in Canada West at his position in spite of his team's struggles last year. Crescenzi ranked second in saves per game, averaging 5.25 per match, and posted a 1.42 goals-against average, good for fifth in the conference.

The Dinos also return their solid British defensive presence in Joe Long (2nd, Bristol, UK), who in 2008 consistently provided stability and passion to a young club that will need plenty more of that in 2009. Veteran midfielder Brian Delaney (4th, Calgary) has also impressed in preseason action and figures to be a key piece to the Dinos' puzzle this season.

Calgary welcomes a recruiting class which includes a wide array of players, several of whom possess international and/or past CIS playing experience.

For Ken Price and the Dinos to start off on the right foot, they must reverse their recent woes on the road, where they went winless in 2008. With matches against the three top conference finishers in 2008 among their first four in B.C., Calgary will certainly have its hands full right out of the gate.

UFV Cascades
2008 conference record: 4-5-5, 6th (missed playoffs)
Last CW title: none
Last CIS title: none

ABBOTSFORD, BC - The Fraser Valley Cascades have shown steady improvement during their three years of competition in Canada West. The Cascades improved from a 0-12-2 (eighth place) record in 2006, to 4-7-3 (seventh) in 2007, to a 4-5-5 (sixth) record in 2008.

In 2009 the Cascades believe they can take the next step and qualify for Canada West playoffs for the first time in university history. Fraser Valley certainly has the returning talent to give other long-time Canada West members a serious run for a post-season berth.

It all starts in goal, and the Cascades stand tall with keeper Kris Johannson (5th, North Delta, BC) patrolling the back end. The second-year Cascades keeper recorded three shutouts last season, was sixth in goals against average and seventh in Canada West in save percentage.

"Johannson is a very important member of the team. His six-foot, six-inch frame and athletic build are perfect for the position of a goalkeeper," insists Cascades head coach Alan Errington, back for his sixth season with the squad. "Kris was with the Vancouver Whitecaps earlier this season on a trial and is rated as one of the top goalkeepers in Greater Vancouver."

James Giebelhaus (4th, Abbotsford, BC) leads a group of defenders which lost a pair of fifth-year players - all-star Jordan Langelaar and Simon Crocker - to graduation, and will be counted on heavily to keep the ball away from Johannson.

Up front the Cascades return their top three point-men. The leader of that group is Craig Robinson (2nd, Chilliwack, BC), who tied for fourth in Canada West scoring in 2008-2009 with seven goals.

"Robinson was our top scorer last season with seven goals and, in my opinion, has improved tremendously in recent months," says Errington. "Craig is a strong player who can hold the ball well up front and is dangerous when crosses are delivered into the box."

Also returning to the forward ranks are Milan Francisty (5th, Maple Ridge, BC) and Ethan Claibourne-Collins (3rd, Chilliwack), both of whom had seven points last season to tie for seventh in Canada West scoring.

Lethbridge Pronghorns
2008 conference record: 1-10-3 (8th, missed playoffs)
Last CW title: none
Last CIS title: none

LETHBRIDGE - After playing last season without a home, due to construction delays, the Lethbridge Pronghorn are set to usher in a new era with the opening of the U of L Stadium this fall. While the field turf pitch is ready to go, with some co-operation from Mother Nature over the next couple weeks, the amenities of the field could be complete in time for the men's home opener on September 26th.

The 'Horns return 12 players from last year, but have a couple of big holes on the back line to fill with the graduation of team captain Ryan Conn and Marcus Karipati.

A second team all-star in 2007, Michael O'Brien will be looked upon to lead the backline along with returnees Steve Brown, Brett Silbernagel and Justin Lariviere.

After a season away from the team, Matt Medoruma returns to anchor the midfield with fellow sophomores Lucas Rajcic and Cristian Lornezoni. Andrew Malcolm, who will look to add to his 10 career goals, and 2007 'Horns leading scorer Jaycee Neufeld will be counted on to generate some offence from the midfield position. Up front, fifth-year striker Greg Remjin will look to add to his team leading five goals from last season and kick start the 'Horns' offence that scored a conference-low seven goals last season.

The most interesting battle for a starting position will be in goal, with the incumbent Colin Pattison battling new comer Jordan Campbell. Pattison was thrown directly into the fire last season, playing all but 47 minutes as a freshman and despite giving up a conference high 33 goals, he finished tied for second in saves with 65.

Campbell, a southern Alberta product, was a Team Alberta member for the Canada Games and has pushed Pattison thus far through camp. Early-season performances will determine who mans the crease down the stretch.

In addition to Campbell, long-time head coach Randy Bardock expects key contributions from a strong recruiting class. Josh Forsberg, also a participant in the Canada Games and ACAC transfers, Raphael Paszkowski and Steve Kenny will be fixtures in the front lines.

True freshmen Morgan Brownjohn and Scott Rickwood close out a very strong recruiting class and will see time in their first season.

Saskatchewan Huskies
2008 conference record: 5-6-3 (5th, missed playoffs)
Last CW title: none
Last CIS title: none

SASKATOON - For three consecutive seasons Saskatchewan has finished just short of a playoff of spot and in 2009 the Huskies are looking to change that.

Armed with returning Canada West all-stars, leading scorers and Team Canada FISU members Jerson Barandica-Hamilton and Josh Northey, the Huskies look to challenge teams in the tough conference schedule, a feat they have proven can be done. Last season the Huskies defeated the 2008 Canada West and CIS silver medalist Trinity Western and played to a draw with top-calibre UBC.

In 2008 the Huskies finished with a 5-6-3 record, just three points out of fourth place and four points out of third place in the conference. Barandica-Hamilton sat tied for first in conference points (13) and goals (nine), while Northey sat tied for next in line with 10 points and seven goals.

Although the Huskies have strong returning players, the roster will still be young with just two fourth-years, four third-year players and 17 first- or second year athletes. The fourth-year veterans are midfielder Steve Irinici and striker Myles Shedden. Striker Barandica-Hamilton, midfielder Northey and defenders Saud Ahmad and Stefan Husdal make up the third-years. The team lost defenders Michael Veszi and Brendan Garritty to graduation.

Second-year keepers Mark Diakiw and Simon Kluge will return to the net for the Huskies. The two split equal time each starting seven games. Together they combined for a 1.93 goals against average and 64 saves.

"As a young team, we need to continue to mature and find the every-weekend consistency that is needed to collect points in this conference," said six-year Huskie head coach Bryce Chapman. "Finding success depends on a lot of things. We need to get points every weekend, stay consistent, stay healthy and have a bit of luck. If we can control everything within our means, then I believe we will be able to put ourselves in a good spot come playoffs."

Newcomers to the team include midfielders Ryan Contenti (Calgary), Karmvir Bath (Brandon) and Taylor Everndon (Calgary), as well as defender Jordian Farahni (Regina). Defender Scott Malek, who sat out the 2008-09 season after transferring from the University of Science and Arts in Oklahoma, is also now eligible to play.

Trinity Western Spartans
2008 conference record: 6-4-4 (3rd)
2008 CW championship: 1-1 (2nd)
2008 CIS championship: 2-1 (2nd)
Last CW title: 2007
Last CIS title: none

LANGLEY, BC - The biggest change for Trinity Western this season will come behind the bench, where Pat Rhola will take over the reins of the Spartans. Rohla, who spent the last two seasons as assistant coach on the Spartans championship women's soccer team, will lead a club that has qualified for the CIS championship each of the last four season and is in line for its fifth straight as host of the 2009 championship.

The Spartans have won three national championship medals (silver in 2008 and 2006, bronze in 2005), but as coach Rohla has been telling his squad the past does not get you any wins in the future. "The biggest danger of having a history is that you rely on history. We cannot rely on the past to be our future. We have to make our own history and we will be short-sighted if we go out and think things are going to be handed to us. We are going to have to develop our own culture of who we are and our own philosophy of play; once we get there we could be in for some surprises."

Coach Rohla's game philosophy is to build from defence out and that is currently one of the stronger points on the squad. "Defence wins championships. That is the foundation on which you play from. You can have extremely talented attacking teams, but in the end if you cannot keep goals out you do not when championships. In the end stingy defence gets you to the big show and what you do with that sometimes comes down to a little bit of luck and some innate talent within the team."

Anchoring the back half of the field are returning two time all-Canadian defender Paul Hamilton (Calgary), CIS tournament all-star keeper Andrew Kowan (Richmond, B.C.) and 2007 CW all-star keeper Andrew Fink (Burnaby, B.C.). "Any one of our keepers could start and we are fortunate to have quality starting keepers," commented Rohla. "Hamilton gives us confidence in the backline, but in the rest of the back we have a number of options. We have a fair bit of flexibility and we would not miss a beat with changing players."

In the midfield the Spartans have plenty of depth from which to choose, but they will most likely get their grit out of the play of newcomer Ioannis Tsoulouhas (Bellingham, WA). "We have a good mix of midfielders and as we get players back from injury we will have a number options to work with," said Rohla. "Ioannis is a nice addition who will add a little bite and an attacking mindset. He is an aggressive play who gets after it."

Up front the Spartans will miss the presence of TWU goal-scoring leader Adrian Kekec's 29 career goals. The players who step up and fill this spot will determine how effectively TWU is at putting the ball in the opponents net.

Victoria Vikes
2008 conference Record: 9-3-2 (1st)
2008 CW tournament: 2-0 (1st)
2008 CIS tournament: 0-2 (t-7th)
Last CW title: 2008
Last CIS title: 2004

VICTORIA - The defending Canada West champion Victoria Vikes will commence their title defence this weekend as conference play opens at Centennial Stadium. Back at the helm for his 22nd season coaching the team is 2008 Canada West coach of the year Bruce Wilson.

Last season the Vikes advanced to the CIS national championship for the first time in three years after Canada West MVP Cole McFarlane powered the Vikes past the Alberta Golden Bears 2-1 in the division semifinal. Despite blazing past the Trinity Western Spartans to capture their first Canada West title since 2004, the side struggled at the CIS championship, with an opening round loss to the eventual champion York Lions.

Looking to overcome last year's disappointment will be returning Canada West all-stars McFarlane, goalkeeper Dan Kilpatrick, defender Patrick Nelson and midfielder Sam Wingham. McFarlane netted a co-league-high nine goals last season and will co-captain this year's squad alongside the senior Wingham.

"Cole has been unbelievable for us," Wilson said. "We look for leadership from him and we look for goals from him. He is an excellent player and has come into the preseason fit and keen."

In addition the Vikes keep most of their lineup in tact from last season with eight of the 11 starters from last year's conference final returning. Despite the core of his squad being made up of last season's veterans, Wilson has learned in recent years not to take any of their conference opponents lightly.

"The Canada West division is a very difficult league to be in," Wilson said before adding, "Twenty years ago we were guaranteed 10 league games, but not anymore. The league is very strong and if you don't show up ready to play for every single game you're going to lose points."

Reinforcing his arsenal during the post-season, Wilson recruited some of Victoria's finest players, including Stelly's Secondary's Bobby Eng and Claremont Secondary's Andrew Ravenhill. While a number of rookies have impressed the veteran coach, Eng has already secured a starting position in the Vikes defence.

With his lineup reinforced and key positions filled from last year's graduating players, Wilson figures his side will be a strong contender for their second consecutive Canada West title.