The next game they play will be for real.
The UNBC Timberwolves finished their pre-season soccer schedule with a 1-0 win against the Grande Prairie Regional College Wolves Tuesday afternoon at North Cariboo Fields. Sourosh Amani gave the home side the winning goal when he connected on a penalty kick in the 70th minute.
The Timberwolves, who are preparing for their first season in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, finished exhibition play with a 2-2 record. In those four games, they scored seven goals and the 24-year-old Amani was in on every one of them.
"He spent from the age of six, to about 17 or 18, playing in Holland, and Holland knows how to produce some pretty good ball players," said UNBC coach Alan Alderson. "He's an incredibly talented player."
UNBC was awarded the penalty kick after Danny Dell was hauled down inside the 18-yard box. Dell had gotten behind Grande Prairie's back line and had accepted a slick pass from teammate Tyson Hunter.
In Tuesday's contest, T-wolves goalkeepers Jonathan Richards, Mitch McFarlane and Ty Venhola shared the duties in net and kept Grande Prairie shooters off the board.
Alderson has used his three goalies equally during the pre-season and is thrilled with the level of play they have shown him. Together, they have posted two shutouts and have allowed just six goals in total.
"I'm incredibly excited with our talent in goal," Alderson said. "All three goalkeepers have been phenomenal this entire pre-season and I have no idea who I'm going to start when we play Victoria in early September."
UNBC's regular-season opener is Sept. 7 in Victoria against the University of Victoria Vikes, who are the defending national champions.
The Timberwolves began exhibition play with a 4-3 loss to the host Vikes last Thursday. Alderson is keeping that result in context because UVic didn't dress three of its top players that night.
"[Coach] Bruce [Wilson] hid a few guys so we're going to be seeing the very best of them next time," Alderson said. "But I was excited that we created some goals against a very good team."
