They know their future, but the Douglas College women’s Royals soccer team want to cinch their destiny.
The squad enters the 2018 PacWest League season with a big red circle on their calendar as hosts and participants at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association’s championship in November.
All the stressing and hand-wringing that goes with battling for a berth can be cast aside – or at least converted into something more organic – as the Royals hone in on building a challenger for a national crown.
After last year’s PacWest league title and a fifth-place finish at the nationals, knowledge and experience will be major assets as the squad kicks off the regular season Sept. 8 against Langara at Coquitlam Town Centre Park.
“Our focus is to find a rhythm, find who plays well together, what formations we can throw out there and give players minutes,” remarked head coach Chris Laxton on Tuesday. “Most important, give players rest so we don’t need to put them through the grind of 12 games in seven weeks. We can hopefully give them time to rest and be ready in time for November.”
Knowing you’ll be playing Nov. 7 to 10 with the rest of Canada’s best teams eases some of the early details every club faces at the start of a new season. But it doesn’t inoculate them from doing all the hard work and checking the necessary boxes that mark a successful year.
Laxton considers the off-season work, primarily recruiting and player retention, as big pluses.
Among those taking the leadership role are captain Samantha Kell, who led the PacWest in scoring with eight goals in 11 games, forward Mikayla Hamilton and midfielder Andrea Perrotta. Ready to take on more responsibility as a second-year player is Burnaby Mountain alum Martina Pettenon, who scored a big goal during last year’s provincial cup run.
The backline includes Burnaby North alum Ashley Bristow, Surrey’s Sonali Dholliwar and Coquitlam’s Alyssa Lum, working in tandem with goalkeepers Alexa Gazzola and Nicole Scott to keep the ball at bay.
When it comes to new additions, the team stocked up at every position, including Burnaby and St. Thomas More grad/midfielder Mikaela Montagano, Surrey forward Sofia Flores-Aguilera, Ladner centre back Hannah dela Cruz, and midfielder Emma Thomas of PoCo.
“They’re going to make an impact in their first year, especially with the minutes we’re able to throw around knowing our end date and we know we’re going to play in November,” said Laxton of his eight additions.
