The sting of being shunted from the U Sports Canada West conference playoff picture just before it was framed still haunts the UNBC Timberwolves men's soccer team.
How could a team with so much promise - by far the strongest squad the T-wolves have ever had since they joined U Sports/CIS in 2012 - be left on the outside looking in when eight teams kick off the postseason this weekend?
When the T-wolves left Prince George last weekend for Abbotsford they were the third-place stakeholders in control of their own destiny. All they needed to claim their second-straight playoff ticket was a win or a pair of ties to close out the regular season against Fraser Valley Cascades.
Two plays, both in injury team, changed the T-wolves' fate.
In Friday's game the Cascades broke a scoreless draw on a free-kick header with two minutes left on the clock and in the rematch Saturday it was a hand-ball in the box that gave the Cascades a penalty kick with only a couple minutes left and they scored on it to produce a 2-2 tie. Then on Sunday, while the T-wolves were driving home, the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack unexpectedly beat the previously-undefeated UBC Thunderbirds 1-0 to leap past UNBC and claim the fourth and final Pacific Division playoff spot.
That's all it took to end the T-wolves' season.
"That's sport for you," said head coach Steve Simonson. "I kind of always knew it wasn't sealed up even though people thought it was and was trying to limit that talk until it was official. But after the TRU weekend it looked pretty good and UBCO it looked really good after that.
"It came down to the two games against Fraser Valley and Friday we gave away a goal in extra time and, ultimately, if that was a tie it would have worked out for us. Then on Saturday we give away a goal on a penalty shot that ended up killing us. If that didn't go in (and the T-wolves had won) we would have ended up in third place."
The WolfPack, last year's national bronze medalists, got hot at the right time, winning five of their last six. TRU finished fourth with a 6-6-3 record, while UNBC (5-4-6) placed fifth.
"All we can say is full credit to TRU for doing what they needed to do, don't begrudge them for getting the job done," said Simonson.
"What speaks volumes to our season is literally, if that decision in extra time Saturday is not given against us, it's our best season of all time and that's the fine margins of the year. That's how close we were."
For forward Francesco Bartolillo and defenders Gordon Hall and Conrad Rowlands - all three are in their fifth seasons of college soccer eligibility - there is no tomorrow. They've played their last U Sports game. Seven other players are graduating UNBC this school year and won't be back next season, including: goalie Scott Brown; forward Matt Jubinville; defenders Clay Kiiskila and Emmanuel Drame; and midfielders Liam Stewart, Jesse Rake and Josh McAvoy.
"That's the most frustrating part of the end of the season - of course you want to do well results-wise, but you're saying goodbye to teammates and that's a hard one, for sure," said Simonson.
Losing so many experienced players is a bitter pill but Simonson says the T-wolves won't be left with an empty cupboard in 2019.
"We do lose players but we've been building over the last two or three years to make sure we're not caught by this," he said. "Two-thirds of our starting 11 will still be here and guys who have been developing for two years will take the place of guys who are leaving. I think we're pretty well set up for it."
Figuring in that future are second-year midfielder Abou Cisse and rookie forward Anthony Preston, who made an impact this season. Cisse is listed as a sophomore but this was his first year to get significant playing time.
"They're both great players and we know that, but people don't know much about them," said Simonson. "If they're going to be that good in Year 1, what are they going to be like in Year 3, 4, 5? It's exciting."
The team will continue to train together indoors five days a week at the Northern Sport Centre until the spring term ends in April. Simonson says they'll have one more trip coming in March, playing a series of exhibition games somewhere in a warmer climate.
"It's hard because of geography and we have to find ways to generate the funds to get out of town because it's such a competitive disadvantage for us compared to the UBCs of the world who can play games every week all year long in a massive city against whoever they want," said Simonson. "Those winter games are something we need to try and claw more (wins) out of the year and help close that competitive gap."
The UNBC women did make the playoffs and will take on the Manitoba Bisons Friday night in Vancouver in a sudden-death elimination game. The game at Thunderbirds Stadium starts at 6 p.m. The winner advances to the quarterfinals Sunday at noon against UBC.
See Friday's Citizen for a women's soccer playoff preview.
