Eagles basketball throws down back-to-back barnburners

By Kyle Vinoly

It was a tense fourth quarter for the Kwantlen Eagle’s Women’s basketball team, as they defeated the Quest University Kermodes of Squamish 62-59 Friday. After dominating the first half of their match-up against Quest, competition heated up and the game came down to a nail-bitting final two minutes.

“Into the fourth quarter, we stopped playing defense,” said Eagle’s guard Emily Wright, who played 37 minutes and drained one of the trio of three-point shots made by the Eagles. “We always play well for the first three quarters and then the fourth quarter we don’t do well.”

Eagle’s coach Gary Pawluck said that the girls have had many close finishes this year but thinks it’s helped make them a better team.

“We came out with real intensity today,” said Pawluck. “We missed a few easy shots in the second half, and [Quest] stepped up and made some good shots.”

The women also faced off against Quest Saturday, in an attempt to secure a spot in the B.C. Provincial Championships. (Results will follow.)

“I don’t think anyone ever picked Kwantlen to make the playoffs, ever,” said Eagles forward Shmyla Thandi, who posted 11 points in the night and secured a double-double, getting 10 defensive rebounds. “It’s exciting, it motivates me for the next game.”

By Kyle Vinoly

A high-pressure free throw from Eagle’s guard Mike Davis sealed a win for the Eagle’s in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter of their Friday game against Quest University Kermodes of Squamish 65 to 64.

The Eagle’s were ahead by 10 points at the end of the first quarter but the men from Quest fought back in the second and third quarters. The lead changed 12 times before the Eagles finally won, 65-64.

Scenes from a tournament

The Kwantlen eagles men’s basketball team, in anticipation of the latest college season, has been sharpening its skills in tournaments. Reporter/photographer Sandy Buemann was at Douglas College Saturday, Oct. 18, as the Eagles took on Camosun College (they lost, 75-59) and brought back these images.

‘Worst performance’ threatens men’s soccer playoff hopes

The Kwantlen Eagles men’s soccer team is hanging on to their playoff hopes by a hair after their winless streak stretched to five games on Saturday against the last place UBC-O (Okanagan) Heat.

The Eagles, who are in a tight three-way race for the final playoff spot, fell 3-1 at home to the previously winless Heat in what may have been a must-win game.

“This was the worst performance of the season, bar none,” said Kwantlen Coach Vincent Alvano. “I’ve seen in it so many times. This is the typical high school mentality where you play your heart out against a better team, and when it comes to a team you feel is beneath you, you stop competing.”

Kwantlen fell behind early when UBC-O’s Austin Ross curled a free kick into the top left corner of the goal, swinging the momentum to the Heat. UBC-O continued to press the Kwantlen defense, and in the 39th minute forward Lars Seitzinger was fouled near the goal, resulting in a penalty kick that put the Heat up 2-0.

Early in the second half, fresh substitute Sasa Plavsic wired a long free kick off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net, sparking an offensive resurgence, and pulling the Eagles back within striking distance.

Despite their renewed vigor, Kwantlen failed to convert any of their many opportunities into points, and as the clock ticked their desperation began to show.

In the 87th minute, after a possible hand ball went uncalled directly in front of the head referee, the Eagles stood frozen as Heat midfielder Tom Brook easily put the nail in the coffin on the resulting 3-on-2 rush.

“Those are the type of games that get coaches fired, or make a coach resign, because you feel so responsible that you cannot motivate your kids against a team you should be able to dominate,” Alvano said. “This is the team that held Capilano to a 1-1 tie in the first half, and 0-0 against Douglas, and we fall behind 2-0 against a team that hasn’t even won a game.”

Despite the loss, Kwantlen still has a chance at the playoffs because Langara lost its match to second-ranked Douglas College, and VIU lost to top-ranked Capilano.

If the 15-point Eagles win on Sunday, and 16-point Langara loses or ties, Kwantlen will squeak into the playoffs because they hold the tiebreaker over 15-point VIU.

Kwantlen’s final game of the regular season is a 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, rematch against UBC-O at Tamanawis Field in Surrey.

Eagles fall 2-0 to top-ranked Blues

The Kwantlen Eagles suffered a 2-0 loss to the Capilano Blues Sunday, as British Columbia’s two undefeated men’s college soccer teams met for the first time this year.

The patient Capilano squad (6-0-0) had a hard time securing solid chances against the defensively-minded Eagles (3-2-1), until midway through the second half when a momentary lapse allowed Milad Rhamati to weave to the end line before tapping a centring pass to Corey Birza for the winning goal.

“Today wasn’t about winning or losing, today was about respect, and I think we achieved that,” said Kwantlen head coach Vincent Alvano.

After Capilano’s Alan McIndoe scored in the 34^th minute, Kwantlen continued to stack their defense against the top team in the country, preventing any solid chances but at the cost of scoring opportunities for themselves. 

“We’re too young, too inexperienced, and too naïve. So we know that we’re going to make mistakes and give up possession, and we accept that. By accepting that we maximize our strengths and minimize our weaknesses,” Alvano said.

The Eagles’ Justin Lodge was the lone striker for much of the game, consistently fielding clearing kicks in the midst of four Capilano defenders.

After the Blues’ widened their lead to 2-0, Lodge dropped back to midfield in favour of two fresh Kwantlen attackers, Sasa Plavsic and Jethro Kambere.

Despite a tough second half, Capilano capitalized on one of their only chances, showing just how dangerously efficient they were. The only thing preventing the Blues from notching an additional goal was an amazing breakaway save by keeper Michael Newton.

“It’s not how hard you fall, it’s how fast you get up. And I guess the character of this team will be told next game… I told them from the beginning of the season that this team was going to be defined not by the way they won, but by they would lose. So I’ll get my answer in a week,” said Alvano.

The Eagles defeated Vancouver Island University 3-2 on Saturday. Their next match is at home Saturday against fourth-ranked Thompson Rivers University.