Men’s soccer falls short against the Mariners
By Courtnie Martin, Sports Reporter
With a host of Douglas College athletes in attendance, Cunnings Field was full of fan support for the men’s last soccer game of the year. The dreary weather was not stopping the hopeful fans and Royals from sending a message to the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners.
“I have never seen so many fans at a game. Most of us athletes wanted to support the team on their last game,” explained women’s basketball player, Simran Bir.
As the crowd remained cheerful, the Royals slowly slipped away on the scoreboard. VIU was controlling the entire first half, as Douglas committed several fouls in their midfield. The energy was dwindling on the field and the score showed it. At half-time, the score was 3-0, and it was smooth sailing to a victory for the Mariners. A second-place seed was slipping away from the young Douglas team.
At the end of half-time, the Royals came out with new energy.
The majority of the second half was a back and forth rally, one unsuccessful chance after another, with both goalies doing a great job of stuffing the other team. But ultimately, as the game neared the end, the Mariners showed no signs of slowing down. The Royals held them to one goal, but were unable to find the back of the net themselves. Final score, 4-0.
“We played very poorly, nothing like the Douglas standards we know we should have played. I really appreciate the teams for coming out and watching us although we did not showcase our talents like we should have,” said Illias Bocolas.
Ending the season 8-2-4, the Royals finished just one game shy of second place. Coming into the season, the team was very confident about the chances of winning Provincials and moving on to Nationals. That possibility still exists; it’ll just be a harder road now. The Provincials start Saturday October 26.
Captain and fifth year Mohammad Ali reminded the players not to take their opportunities for granted: “Today’s game was definitely one to forget. Moving forward we are very confident going into the Provincials. We need our top senior players like Javid [Khan], Sahil [Sandhu], Devin [Phelan], Marc [Mincieli], and [Raaqim Amijee] to carry this young team. If they show up to play, there is no doubt that we will book a ticket to the Provincial Final and also a berth at the National Final in Halifax.”
