After two weekends away from home the UNBC Timberwolves men's soccer team is ready to debut their moves in front of a home crowd.
For Alan Alderson, the T-wolves head coach in their inaugural season of CIS and Canada West soccer, the opponent his team drew for its first home action this weekend at the North Cariboo Senior Soccer League field is right out of a movie script. Alderson played three seasons for the Spartans before coaching for 17. He still has lots of friends in the coaching ranks and on the field there.
"It's my new gig in my new town playing against the university that I spent 20 years at," said Alderson. "It'll be a very exciting weekend for me. We couldn't have picked a better opponent. There's going to be a lot of emotion in it for me.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing all the boys that I've coached before and the coaching staff as well," he added. "The more players you know in the league makes it more enjoyable."
Not surprisingly the T-wolves are struggling to find success in their first season of CIS play, having started out with a 0-4 record but coming off a 1-0 loss to the Saskatchewan Huskies last Sunday.
"Each game we've learned some really valuable things and [Sunday] was one of the games where we started to put a lot more of it together," said Alderson. "If we can continue to just put those things together then I think we've got enough stuff on the team that we can start finding some ways to get some wins.
"We've continued to get far better defensively as far as our team shape and then in our individual defending inside our team shape," he added. "Those are absolutely critical and we've gotten better every game."
UNBC will have to continue that trend as the Spartans (3-0-1) are coming into Prince George on a high having defeated the defending CIS national champion Victoria Vikes before knocking off regional river Fraser Valley Cascades last weekend.
Alderson said he's excited to play in Prince George in front of the fans he's heard so much about in the last couple months.
"Essentially we're showing off Prince George to the country," said Alderson. "I'm hoping like crazy that a whole bunch of people come out so we can brag about the support we get. Plus, that will help me recruit for next year."
Game time for the T-wolves and Spartans is 2:15 p.m. both days.
