After two years of taking their lumps waiting for a major rebuilding project bear fruit, the UNBC Timberwolves men’s soccer team is anxious to take that bite out of the Canada West playoff apple again.
There’s no substitute for experience and for the first time since they made to the postseason in 2022 the TWolves have an abundance of third- and fourth-year players with gametime savvy they can rely on for leadership.
Whether that adds up to more wins, coming off a 2-12-2 season in 2024, the UNBC squad is about to find that out. UNBC opens the new season Friday, Aug. 22 (8 p.m. start) at Masich Place Stadium against the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack in the first of a two-game weekend set that continues Sunday, Aug. 24 (2:30 p.m.)
“I think you’re going to see another difficult but competitive year and we’re more prepared, we’re closer than we’ve been the last two years,” said Simonson, UNBC’s head coach since 2015. ”I think we’re a significant step ahead of where we were last year, but you’ve still got to play the games.
“The core has been together going into their third year and we saw a lot of these guys play together as first- and second-years because we had that big turnover. We’ve got (midfielder) Wyatt Lyon back and couple other incoming players who will make a difference, and we have a few guys who have been playing League 1 in the summer and they look pretty sharp, so hopefully it will be a more ready-to-to team.”
Simonson has been impressed with the development of third-year midfielder Isaac Tate, who booted in two goals and set up four others in 2024 to move to within four assists of Tofa Fakule’s team-record 14.
“Isaac is probably one of the most threatening attackers from what I’ve seen around, he’s got a ton of pace bit he’s also got a real good ability to dribble and can play on both feet,” said Simonson. “People are aware of him and have to adjust for his pace and for his ability.”
Rookie striker Josh Jordan, the younger brother of UNBC third-year midfielder James Jordan, had 11 goals in eight games playing for his Fusion FC club team. Their father, Jason Jordan, played as a striker for the Vancouver Whitecaps when they were part of the North American Soccer League.
The defence is built on the shoulders Korean import Hagon Kim and centreback Koss Nystadt, both third-year players. Fourth-year Adam Korduner emerged as a leader on the back end last year against UBC and he’s stood out in the preseason as an aggressive winger in the preseason after an exceptional summer season playing in Victoria. He’s backed by Netherlands import Pipeijn van der Erde, entering his fourth season.
Defender Charlie Beauvais, who finished his high school career with Barca (Barcelona) Residency Academy in Arizona, had three goals and nine assists as the captain of his team.
“Once he gets up to the speed of the college league he’s going to be a very good player,” said Simonson. “He’s technical, he’s creative, he’s a ball-playing defender. He’s showed really good spurts coming in as a first-year and we think he’ll end up being an important piece even in his first year.”
Another one to watch on defence is Wellington, New Zealand product Jamie Wildash-Chan.
UNBC has two fourth-year midfielders — PGSS product Trevor Scott and Charlie Stewart of Metchosin — while Anton Zadonsky, a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, is heading into Year 3. Mark Talisuna came north to UNBC for his master’s studies and brings three years of college soccer experience from Simon Fraser University.
Local talent is prominent on the TWolves’ roster, with midfielders Scott, Xavier Rocha, Kaiden Young, Sacha Vieci and Wasim Aka, striker Luis Rodrigues, defender Marko Furlan and goalie Yanni Ntapis.
Defender Demien Dron, a Duchess Park alumnus, is eligible to play in his fifth year of eligibility but his wounded knee might not allow that.
Ntapis, a PGSS grad who joined UNBC in 2021 after playing club soccer for Thomson Okanagan, forms a reliable goalie tandem with second-year Logan Pierce. The six-foot-four Pierce played this past summer for Kamloops United in League 1 along with UNBC teammates Tate, Lyon and Beauvais.
“Logan is a high-potential keeper and he’s quite ahead of where he was last year,” said Simonson. “He’s put a lot of time in and he looks good. Between the two of them, I’m pretty happy with them.”
Kieran Large, a former Victoria Highlander/UBC-Okanagan Heat midfielder, joined the TWolves coaching staff as an assistant this year.
The TWolves have three crossover games this season against Prairie Division opponents. They’ll host the Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday, Sept. 12 and will travel to Calgary for games against the Calgary Dinos (Sept. 20) and Mount Royal Cougars (Sept. 21).
The UBC Thunderbirds and Victoria Vikes appear to be the Pacific Division powerhouses this season. UNBC will meet the Vikes at Thunderfest in Victoria (Sept. 5 and 7) and will host the T-birds in their final two games of the season (Oct. 17 and 19).
