UNBC men’s soccer team can make playoffs at home

Players on the UNBC men’s soccer team may be thinking their opponent on Saturday couldn’t be more ideal.
Members of the UBC-Okanagan Heat could look at the scenario the same way.
Closing out their B.C. Colleges Athletic Association regular season at home, the Northern Timberwolves control their own fate this weekend. Since UBC-Okanagan happens to be the squad chasing them for the final playoff berth in Group A, a victory over the Heat on Saturday would secure them a berth to the six-team BCCAA men’s provincial championship. With four wins, two ties and four losses (4-2-4), the Timberwolves are in third place in the five-team division, six points ahead of UBC-Okanagan, which has a game in hand at 2-2-5.
As for the Heat, they need a full three points on Saturday, and some help the rest of the way just to climb into a playoff position. Saturday’s contest is their only match of the weekend. Members of the Heat close out their regular season on the road next weekend, Oct. 17 at Douglas College in Coquitlam and Oct. 18 at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey.
The following weekend, Douglas College plays host to BCCAA provincials Oct. 23 to 25. Joining the top three teams in Group A will be the top three squads in the four-team Group B.
On Sunday, the Timberwolves host the Kamloops-based Thompson Rivers University WolfPack, who lead Group A with a record of 5-4-0. At 5-1-2, the Royals sit second in the division. The basement-dwelling Eagles (1-0-7) round out the teams in Group A. Group B is led by the North Vancouver-based Capilano University Blues (5-2-0). The Vancouver Island University Mariners (Nanaimo), Langara College Falcons (Vancouver) and Quest University Kermodes (Squamish) are the other Group B teams.
The top two teams in each pool get direct byes into the provincial semifinals on Oct. 24. The second- and third-place teams will meet in quarterfinals on Oct. 23.
“Right now, nothing is for certain. We need to bring some points in this weekend in order to qualify for the playoffs so that’s our main focus,” UNBC men’s soccer head coach Sonny Pawar said. “”But having said that, we’ll break the game down into smaller time slots and see if we can keep the kids focused for smaller periods of time rather than focusing on the full 90 minutes.
“It’s a playoff spot for (UBC-Okanagan) as well so it should be an entertaining game. Hopefully we show up with the right frame of mind and the confidence to be able to do the things that we do well and get the result.”
The Timberwolves are coming off a pair of losses in the Lower Mainland. On Saturday in Burnaby, they lost 3-1 to Langara. Sunday in North Vancouver, they lost to the Blues by an identical 3-1 score.
“On Saturday we came out extremely flat,” Pawar said. “From front to back, we were very average I thought and it made it very difficult to compete.”
Still recovering from a high ankle sprain, midfielder Matt Mehrassa managed to score a penalty shot goal for the Timberwolves on Saturday. On Sunday, Chris Larocque collected the goal for UNBC.
“(We) had a different team show up on Sunday and played extremely well,” Pawar said. “We’ve kind of battled with inconsistency the whole season. It’s something that we’re trying to improve, but sometimes it makes it difficult with athletes at this age.”
The Timberwolves hope they get more offensive support this weekend.
“I think we still tend to do quite well in the centre of midfield, but it seems to break down when we get close to their goal,” Pawar said. “Scoring goals is a real speciality and requires probably the most skill involved in the sport that we play. It’s just a matter of being able to bear down and finish the opportunities when you get the chance, and also to be able to create those opportunities. We struggle with that, as probably most teams do. But having said all that, it’s something that’s a work in progress and when it comes together, it comes together nicely. On other days, when the ball doesn’t want to go in, it doesn’t matter what we try. It doesn’t seem to go in the net.”
The Timberwolves can carry the confidence of knowing that their latest victory, four games ago, was against the Heat. That game, played Sept. 26 in Kelowna, resulted in a 4-0 UNBC victory.
Coming off a charleyhorse injury, Kellen Strobl was back in the lineup for UNBC on the weekend, playing in both games. Although Sunday’s game in North Vancouver was a physical battle, none of the Timberwolves have injuries that would prevent them from playing this weekend, noted Pawar.
“(Making provincials) Is an opportunity and it’s a big one, not only for the team we have this year but the program as a whole,” Pawar said.
UNBC women
The UNBC women entering their games against the Heat (Saturday) and WolfPack (Sunday) clinging to third place in the five-team Pool A standings. They’re only a point ahead of Kwantlen (3-1-4) and two ahead of Douglas (3-0-5). Their opponents this weekend occupy the top two spots in the division, with the WolfPack leading the way at 5-2-2. The Heat (4-3-2) are two points behind.
The men and women hit the pitch at noon both days. The men play will be at Glen Thompson Field while the women are scheduled to play at Michelle Lamarche Field.