Saskatoon – Buoyed by a roster that returns nearly every contributor from a squad that finished second in the Prairie Division of Canada West soccer last season, the 2018 edition of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's soccer team appears poised to build, and improve upon, past success.
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"The young guys from last year want to evolve with the team, take on leadership roles and the big thing for our group is having a number of different leaders," said Huskie head coach
Bryce Chapman. "It takes a number of different players to bring a group like this together."
Entering his 15th season at the helm of the program, Chapman will have the benefit of utilizing a roster that features the top-five point scorers from last season in
Gabriel Buatois (6 points),
Kwame Opoku-Addai (6),
Marcello Gonzalez (5),
Tyler Redl (5) and
Bryce Marinus (3).
"We have a lot of talent, right now it is about finding a way to use that talent but also play within a system that we want," said Chapman. "The things that we can control are our work ethic and being difficult to play against. We can play well with the ball but we also have to be defensively responsible."
Defensively the Huskies will be led into battle once again by
Jacob Powell. The centre back from Coquitlam, B.C. was ever-present last year and provided a steadying presence for what was a young squad. Now in his fourth-year with the team, Powell has twice been honoured at the Canada West level, being named a second team all-star in 2016-17 and a first team all-star last season.
A number of new faces to the squad will also look to make an impact in their first season of Canada West action.
Tobi Ojo,
Jordan Fiske,
Davidson Fadare and
Joshua Fichter have all suited up for Team Saskatchewan throughout their minor soccer careers, while
Christian Scerbo,
Nikolas Baikas and
Dorion Zambuchini also enter the program with strong pedigrees.
"We are excited about this group of student athletes not just for this year but the years to come," said Chapman. "They all bring different pieces that will contribute to our program, university and community."
The Huskies are set to begin their season with a trip to Calgary, Alta. where they will face the Calgary Dinos on Aug. 25 at 2 p.m. and the Mount Royal Cougars on Aug. 26 at 1:30 p.m.
The first chance to watch the new-look Huskies on home soil will be when they play against the Alberta Golden Bears in a clash for the Bateman Cup on Sep. 1 located on Field 7 in Nutrien Park. That game is scheduled to kick-off at noon and tickets can be
purchased here.
New to Nutrien Park this year is the opportunity to take part in the brand new
Club 12 seating experience.
Club 12 Experience Package – Men's Only (6 Games)
Adult Sideline Experience $85.00
Youth Sideline Experience $60.00
2018 CANADA WEST MSOC PRE-SEASON COACHES POLL
TEAM / POINTS (FIRST-PLACE VOTES)
1. UBC Thunderbirds / 139 (8)
2. Alberta Golden Bears / 134 (4)
3. Trinity Western Spartans / 121
4. Calgary Dinos / 97
5. Thompson Rivers WolfPack / 95 (1)
6. Saskatchewan Huskies / 83
7. Mount Royal Cougars / 72
8. UNBC Timberwolves / 60
9. Victoria Vikes / 59
10. UBCO Heat / 58
11. UFV Cascades / 49
12. Lethbridge Pronghorns / 24
13. MacEwan Griffins / 16
NOTES: Coaches rank all conference teams excluding their own. First-place vote worth 12 pts., second-place 11 pts. etc.
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES
2017 CW regular season record: 7-5-2, 2nd Prairie
2017 CW post-season record: 0-1 (lost in CW QF)
Head coach: Bryce Chapman (15th season) / 74-83-35 (CW career regular season record)
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2014 / 1
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 2013 / 6
2017 CW regular season ranks:
Offence: 22 goals for, 6th in CW
Defence: 19 goals against, 7th in CW
2017 CW regular season leaders:
Goals: 4 –
Marcello Gonzalez, Midfielder;
Kwame Opoku-Addai, Midfielder;
Tyler Redl, Forward
Assists: 4 –
Gabriel Buatois, Midfielder
Points: 6 –
Gabriel Buatois, Midfielder;
Kwame Opoku-Addai, Midfielder
Wins: 6 – Patrick Pranger, Goalkeeper
Shutouts: 5 – Patrick Pranger, Goalkeeper
