Steve Simonson is getting a chance to see his players in action. So far, he likes what they've shown him.
Simonson, head coach of the UNBC Timberwolves men's soccer team, was on the sidelines Friday through Monday in Kamloops. From his vantage point, he watched the club post a 2-2 record in a pre-season tournament. The Timberwolves beat the host Thompson Rivers University WolfPack 2-1 on Friday, downed the Douglas College Royals 2-1 on Saturday, dropped a 2-1 decision to the Quest University Kermodes on Sunday and fell 4-0 to the WolfPack on Monday.
"We've actually played quite well through most of the games," Simonson said from Kelowna, where the Timberwolves played the UBC Okanagan Heat on Tuesday night. "We've tried a couple new formations so there's some adjustment there. So we looked a little bit off from a consistency standpoint... but I think one of the new ones we've tried is really going to suit our best 11 once we're into league play."
Simonson has been playing "close to a starting 11" for only portions of games so he can evaluate the ability and progress of other players on the roster. In Monday's 4-0 loss to TRU, he said the starters were on the field for about 55 minutes and trailed 1-0 when they came off.
"Then we tried some new things with some new bodies so, at that point, the result wasn't what we were focusing on," Simonson said. "It was something similar that we pre-arragned with TRU on Friday. We both sort of said, 'Let's play these players for this portion and let's play these players for that portion,' so we're all in the same boat - just looking at bodies."
Players who have impressed Simonson include veterans Gordon Hall, Francesco Bartolillo and Tofa Fakunle. Hall, a defender who is entering his third year with the T-wolves, spent his summer playing for FC Tucson of the U.S.-based Premier Development League.
"He has come back in very strong," Simonson said.
Bartolillo and Fakunle, meanwhile, are key to the UNBC attack and have been at their usual high levels of effectiveness. New recruits who have shown well include midfielders Jonah Smith and Cody Gysbers, both from Victoria. Simonson also mentioned defender Emmanuel Drame, a walk-on player who trained with the Timberwolves throughout the winter.
"He's been pretty solid at the back," Simonson said.
Previously, Drame was at Red Deer College. He's a native of Liberia who moved to Canada from Ghana a couple years ago.
The Timberwolves are preparing for their fifth season in the Canada West conference of Canadian Interuniversity Sport. To date, the team has had limited success at the CIS level. And, while in Kamloops, the UNBC players were reminded of just how unforgiving the league can be.
"We've learned a few things about when we let our personal standards drop even a little bit, that the teams in the CIS are good enough to punish you on that," said Simonson, who will be in his second season at the helm of the UNBC men's program after being an interim coach last year. "I think TRU (on Monday), even when we had close to our strongest 11 on the park, we played well, we were fine, but we know we had another gear that we could kick into."
The T-wolves will also face UBC Okanagan today at noon. After that, they'll return home and get ready for an alumni game on Saturday (2:30 p.m.) at the North Cariboo Senior Soccer League fields. Their first regular-season action is Aug. 26 at home against the Trinity Western University Spartans of Langley.
The UNBC men's team will utilize goalkeepers Mitch MacFarlane and Rob Goodey this season. MacFarlane will be in his fifth and final year of eligibility and Goodey will be in his third. Goalie Ty Venhola, who would also be a fifth-year player, will sit out and focus on his studies. By stepping aside, he will be eligible to return for the 2017 season.
"We had that situation with two goalkeepers that would have both graduated at the end of the year if we had them both playing, and a good goalkeeper in Rob Goodey not being in the team," Simonson said. "This balances it off for all of us and we think it's a pretty good fit."
The UNBC women's soccer team, under the guidance of new head coach Neil Sedgwick, is currently in the Lower Mainland for its first three exhibition matches of 2016. The Timberwolves will square off against a couple of youth select squads and will face the UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday.
The UNBC women will start their regular schedule Sept. 9 against the visiting University of Winnipeg Wesmen.
