With three wins in their first four games to start the season, the UNBC Timberwolves know the Canada West men’s soccer playoffs are a realistic possibility after missing out on the past two postseasons.
The TWolves (3-1-0) have shot to the upper reaches of the Pacific Division standings, trailing only UBC and Victoria in the seven-team division.
“It’s been a good start for sure. All four games were really tight, competitive games — which is what we expect in this league — and we came out on top in three of them,” said TWolves head coach Steve Simonson.
“The last one, to be honest, we shot ourselves in the foot. We gifted them a penalty on a mistake at the back, but to come out 3-1 after four games, I’m definitely not going to complain.”
This past weekend in Langley, led by a two-goal effort from rookie Josh Jordan, the TWolves came from behind to defeat the Trinity Western Spartans 3-2 on Friday. With that win, they became the first UNBC soccer team to reel off three victories to start a season since joining Canada West in 2012.
In the rematch Saturday, the Spartans (1-3-0) got the only goal — Charles Nana’s penalty kick in the 42nd minute — and walked off with a 1-0 victory.
Simonson’s squad has been leaning heavily on its second- and third-year players. The likes of Isaac Tate, Wyatt Lyon, Hagon Kim, goalie Logan Pierce — and first-year New Zealand import Jamie Waldash-Chan — have consistently delivered what was expected by their coach.
As well as they’ve been playing, Simonson would still like to see more offensive finish.
“We have some really threatening moments. We’re still not clicking on all cylinders in the attack yet, but it’s coming every day,” Simonson said.
“Isaac Tate has been a real threat down the left side. He’s showing his maturity — he’s always had great talent and athleticism — but he’s starting to make smarter decisions. His crossing has been great, and he’s causing teams fits.
“We’re in that uptick stage right now, and it’s exciting to see. We’re still middle of the pack in our age, and we’re just going to keep getting better. So far we’ve turned a corner this year, and hopefully we’ll keep going.”
The TWolves are getting exceptional leadership from Mark Tailisuna, a native of Uganda who arrived at UNBC this year as a graduate student, after three seasons of NCAA Division 2 soccer at Simon Fraser University.
“Mark is a mature student with great experience in the game, and he’s a one-of-a-kind player,” said Simonson. “There’s not a lot of players like him in terms of his comfort level on the ball. He’s just growing into a new group of kids and helping them out, and he gives us calmness, knowing he can help organize us.
“He’s right on the cusp of the professional game as well, and people know who he is. The fun part is teams are really paying attention to him, which adds another dimension when we have so many other threats that they maybe have to ignore a little bit — and it’s hard to focus on any one area.”
The UNBC men will be in Victoria for games against the Vikes (3-1-0) on Friday and Saturday (both at 7:15 p.m.).
The Vikes’ back line revolves around fourth-year veteran Fin Tugwell of North Vancouver — the Canada West defensive player of the year and a U SPORTS first-team all-star in 2024. In four games this season, they’ve allowed just four goals.
“They’re a good team — mostly mature fourth-year kids — probably trying to peak next year when they host nationals,” said Simonson. “We’re playing them at Thunderfest, the frosh-week game where they pack the crowd with thousands of students on Friday, and it’ll be fun to be part of that.
“They’re just a solid team with good players back to front. (Tugwell) spent the summer with Pacific FC in the Canadian Premier League — just a top-level centreback. They just continue to get better, and we’ll have to be at our best to take stuff off them this weekend.”
UNBC returns to Masich Place Stadium on Friday, Sept. 12 — their only game that weekend — when they host the Saskatchewan Huskies. Then it’s off to Alberta to take on Prairie Division frontrunners Calgary and Mount Royal, Sept. 20–21.
The UNBC women (0-4-0) are coming off a pair of one-goal losses to the Fraser Valley Cascades this past weekend in Abbotsford. They’ll be taking on the two-time defending U SPORTS champion UBC Thunderbirds this weekend in Prince George.
Scarlet Thomas scored UNBC’s first goal of the 2025 season near the end of Thursday’s 2-1 loss. The Cascades took Friday’s rematch 1-0.
UNBC goalie Johanna Rathke made 23 saves in the two games and now has 42 stops in four games this season.
The T-birds (4-0) have outscored their opponents a combined 9-0.
Friday’s game starts at 6 p.m. The TWolves and T-birds meet again Sunday at noon.
