Royals men’s soccer face daunting situation
By Davie Wong, Sports Editor
The coming week of PACWEST soccer action will have some very real significance for the Douglas College Royals men’s soccer team. At the moment, the team sits at fourth place in the PACWEST with a record of 1-3-2. Trailing them by two points are the Langara Falcons. In the coming week, the Royals will play the Falcons in a double header. The winner of this double header will be favourites for the playoff spot come the end of the season.
With both the Royals and the Falcons having bad seasons, this one is an odd one. It’s not as if both teams have bad rosters; well, at least the Royals don’t. For the most part, the Royals have found themselves with a good roster playing poorly. The team has talent, they’ve just underperformed.
In particular, the Royals’ offence has been abysmal. They have yet to find a go-to forward to play around. Race Williams has had a tough season, and scoring has been a forethought for him. In fact, there hasn’t really been anyone to highlight in terms of offence, that’s how scattered it is. But that has also been a benefit for the Royals. It either means that they are threatening from multiple angles, or that their offence is sporadic and unreliable.
In terms of defence, the Royals have something going for them there. Captain Nowaf Binsaleh has done a fine job or organizing and leading the backline for the Royals, and should be fine when they go up against the Falcons. They should keep the Falcons off the board. It’s just about where the offence is going to come from.
On the other side, the Falcons aren’t doing too much better. They really haven’t got anything going for them this year. Offensively the team has been bad. They’ve been shut out four times this season so far. Defensively, it’s been worse. They team has yet to have a game where they allow three or less goals. The Langara Falcons have been in an awful state this year. Yet the Royals may still lose to them.
The Falcons will be coming into the game against the Royals hot off a win. Meanwhile, the Royals will be trying to bounce back after their loss to Capilano. Making a prediction as to who will win is a bit difficult. Instead, let’s figure out what happens in all the results.
If the Royals lose both games or lose and draw, the Falcons will have four or one point(s) on them, and they stand a good chance of keeping the Royals out of the playoffs. If they draw both games, or win and draw, the Royals will still be in a precarious spot in the standings, but will have their own fate left in their hands. If they win both games, the Royals will almost uncertainly knock the Falcons out of playoff contention. No matter the result, this week matters for the Royals. Possibly the most of them all.
