A medal-winning season in photos

In late October, the Kwantlen Eagles women’s soccer team made university history, making it to the provincial playoffs for the first time and then winning bronze in the toughly-fought finals. Jessica Rolli, who covered the women through the season, provides a photographic look back at some of the play that led to the team’s success.

Women win bronze in first-ever trip to finals

The Kwantlen women’s soccer team brought home a bronze medal from their first trip to the British Columbia Colleges’ Athletic Association’s (BCCAA) provincial championships, held in Nanaimo last weekend.

The Eagles defeated the Capilano Blues, last year’s gold medal team, 1-0 on Sunday afternoon after losing to eventual champions Langara the day before by the same score.

First-year forward Kelsey Doherty scored the only goal of the weekend, and her first of the season, in the 25th minute by clearing a shot over Blues goaltender’s head.

Rookie goaltender Rosemary Kelly was unbreakable, according to head coach Vladimir Samozvanov, and, along with defensive duo Courtney McColloch and Brittany McNeil, held off Capilano’s numerous scoring attempt.

The year was a fairly steady one for the women, who recorded seven wins, five draws and only two losses all season. They entered provincials sitting in fourth place for their third week in a row.

Kwantlen men’s soccer team did not make it to provincials after a disappointing finish which ended their steady decline in the rankings.

The team, made up entirely of first-year players, posted a 5-3-6 record after spending the first five weeks sitting in a playoff spot.

For new head coach Vincent Alvano, the season was never about gaining a playoff spot.

“It seems to me surreal that we are talking about playoffs when, really, this year was all about creditability, and to establish credibility for the program, “ he said earlier in the season, adding, “I think we achieved that.”

‘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.

Taking it to the streets

Reporter David Pires was on his way to a soccer game when something else broke out — an exuberant, street-smart demonstration in favour of public play in public spaces.

Sunday draw ‘almost like loss’ for women’s soccer team

Nobody scored on Sunday Oct.5, as the Kwantlen women’s soccer team played the Douglas Royals to a 0-0 draw on their home turf at the Tamanawis field in Surrey.

The Eagles may have been tired after a big win the day before against the Langara Falcons, during which Head Coach Vladimir Samozvanov said the team was more alive.

Still, Samozvanov said the result of the Sunday’s game was positive. The women had a few chances during both the first and second half and continued to try their best.

The teams battled back and forth on the sunny fall afternoon with plenty of action in the middle of the field as each side played tug-o-war for control. What ground was gained for either side did not seem to kept for long.

In the second half of the game, Kwantlen used more of the field. Near the end of the second half, shouts of encouragement mingled with groans of disappointment could be heard as Reem Knyfatty, a first-year forward took a shot that drew the Douglas keeper out of the net. Jennifer Starheim, a Douglas forward, then took the play back to the Kwantlen end with a powerful kick.

“There were more passing sequences in the second half,” said Natalie Therrien who is playing her first year of defense, but “collectively the work ethic wasn’t there.”

She said the team was getting way better and “beat the best” when they played the Falcons Saturday. The game Sunday felt like a lose because the teams in the league are neck-in-neck and, “If we don’t get the points from the easy teams than taking points from the hard teams doesn’t really matter,” Therrien said.

The Royals and the Eagles each earned one point for the tie. The teams played two regular games last season, with one tie and one 2-0 loss for the Eagles

Next weekend, the women play the Vancouver Island University Mariners in Nanaimo.

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.

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