Royals WSOC ready to bounce back
By Davie Wong, Sports Editor
The Douglas College Royals are set for a week one rematch when they take on the Quest Kermodes and the VIU Mariners in week three of PACWEST action. The Royals are just coming off of a tough loss to Capilano Blues, while their opponents are coming into the game with positive results under their belt.
While the Royals did lose out to the Blues, they still looked good in a lot of areas. Certainly there will have to be some defensive tightening and some work done on the front end, but overall there is still a ton of quality on that roster. In particular, Mikayla Hamilton will be a player worth watching. Last year she struggled to get going early but exploded once she did. It’s a similar situation this year, and it’ll be interesting to see if she can find her form now that the first quarter of the season is over.
Another player worth watching is Royals captain Samantha Kell. Kell is on a scoring bonanza, netting three in her last two games. If she can keep her form up, the Royals will be all the better for it. She will also have a very real shot of contesting for PACWEST’s top goal-scorer.
Switching gears, let’s take a look at the Royals’ opponents this week. The Quest Kermodes have yet to pick up their first win of the season, tying two out three games for two points. They have a real chance to do it at home when they host the Royals on Saturday. Last time these two met, it fizzled into a 1-1 draw. This time around, the Royals will be hoping they can pick up three points, but it will be against stiff competition.
VIU have a record of 1-1-2 and have struggled much more than expected to start the year. Losing former head coach Anup Kang has really hit the team hard. Even when they did win, they managed to barely squeeze the victory, 3-2 against the Quest Kermodes.
The last time the Royals played the Mariners, they blew them out at home 3-0. Now the Mariners will surely be looking to enact revenge and do the same to the Royals when the two clash on Sunday. It will be an interesting match, that’s for sure. The game kicks off at 12 p.m. on Sunday at Cunnings Field.
Overall, it should be a 4-6-point weekend for the Royals with either matches possible go either way. If it’s a poor week, it could be a two-point weekend. Obviously the worse scenario is a zero-point weekend, but I think the Royals are too good to let that happen. Either way, it’s going to be a good week of PACWEST soccer.
