The UNBC Timberwolves are ready to howl and make some noise on the soccer pitch in the CIS Canada West this season.
That's even after realignment by Canadian Interuniversity Sport, which groups both the men's and women's sides in a tough Canada West B.C. division.
The B.C. division includes UBC, who claimed their 13th national men's title in 2013, as well as powerhouse University of Victoria.
On the women's front, the division includes Trinity Western University that won bronze at the 2013 nationals and have won four of the last six national titles, as well as top-ranked UBC and UVic.
But Alan Alderson, UNBC's men's head coach, is not afraid of the tough opponents at all. He doesn't mind the realignment and is ready for opening kickoff in September.
"I can't wait for this fall to begin," he said. "We've always wanted to build our program into the very best and compete against good ball players. I didn't recruit players who want to hide, I want players who want to compete. We've got eight returning starters this season. We're still young and have a full two to three years before we hit our full stride. This is the year we're ready to make some noise."
The Timberwolves sported a 2-9-3 record in 2013 and finished last in the CIS Canada West Pacific Division.
The team is slated to start training Aug. 10, followed by an alumni match Aug. 16.
They'll then embark on an Alberta tour Aug. 20 for a series of friendlies where they'll face MacEwan University in Edmonton (a probationary memeber in Canada West) and then compete in a tournament at the U of Alberta where they'll tackle the Southeast Edmonton Reserves and the host Golden Bears. They'll then drive south to Calgary for matches against the University of Calgary and Mount Royal University.
They'll host Thompson Rivers University in a pair of exhibition friendlies at Rotary Field Aug. 30-31.
The Twolves open the regular season at home Sept. 6-7 in a two-game series against UBC Okanagan, followed by visiting the defending national champs UBC in Vancouver.
"We had the third-highest attendance in CIS Canada West [in 2013]," said Alderson. "We're hoping to keep the momentum going and make a big statement. We hope to shatter the attendance record. We've got great attacking ball players and we'll go after [the opposition's] players."
Between now and training camp, Alderson and his staff are working on game plans on offence and defence as well as set pieces and making adjustments.
"The guys are pumped and so excited," he said. "It'll be an exciting fall and we're ready for a break-out season."
UNBC's women posted a 1-9-2 record in CIS Canada West in 2013.
They'll all gather on the pitch Aug. 16 to begin preparations for the 2014 season.
They too will travel east to Edmonton to tackle MacEwan and then spend some time in Penticton for more training and matches prior to kicking off the regular season at home Sept. 6-7 against UBC Okanagan.
The B.C. division also includes TRU from Kamloops who was a force in the Pacific Western Athletics Association that houses teams from B.C. colleges. TRU was granted entry into the CIS this season.
"It is by far the toughest division in the country," said T-wolves head coach Andy Cameron. "We have to play with the big girls in UVic, Trinity Western and UBC. And Thompson Rivers is traditionally in the top-five in the college's [association]. Nearly all the top-10 schools in the country are in the B.C. division."
The Timberwolves lost only one starter from last season and have a young side.
"We're just going to concentrate on ourselves," said Cameron. "We're looking to those games a great challenge and take out of them what we can. Last year we registered some points and this year we're looking to competed and steal some points.
Cameron, who just celebrated his two-year anniversary overseeing the team, has seen improvement year after year.
"We improved our goal differential by 50 goals last year. We have a much better backfield and they're more organized."
