Author: mikkelros00
My name is Mikkel, I am 24 years old and from Denmark. I moved to Canada 3 years ago to study at Thompson Rivers University and play for the university´s soccer team. This will be my last year at TRU as I am entering my last year of eligibility and will graduate next summer.
TRU Men’s Soccer Take on UBC:
On August 24th the Thompson Rivers men’s soccer team played their second game of the season away at Thunderbirds Stadium against the University of British Columbia. The game would be a great test for the young untested TRU team bolstering 18 recruits and only 10 returning players. Coming off some very successful years it will be interesting to see how head coach John Antulov’s young squad would do against one of the nation’s best teams. Catch the final preparations, a rundown of the roster and staff, as well as the game right here.
Game preview: The Thompson Rivers University started their 2024/25 Canadawest season on August 23rd and 24th with a pair of away games. Most exciting was the second game against the UBC Thunderbirds a team that historically is one of the best and most exciting to watch in the country. TRU comes into the season with 18 new players with only 5 players remaining from their 2022 national championship title it will be a new fresh squad entering the season (PREVIEW: New-look WolfPack start 2024-25 season on the road 2024). With head coach John Antulov entering his 11th season with the program the young team will be in good hands for a 7th consecutive playoff push (MSOC: UBC tops coaches poll in wide open Canada West 2024).
With preseason starting at the beginning of August the TRU has had a short time to integrate the many new players into coach Antulov’s system. It will be interesting to see how the team suits up this year and if they will be able to go head-to-head with the top teams once again. TRU started the season Friday the 23rd of August with a 3-0 defeat to the UVIC Vikes. A game that showed the lack of experience when big mistakes by TRU were punished on three occasions. Determined to change the loss to a win the TRU men’s soccer team will be full of motivation and belief going into the Saturday night fixture against UBC. TRU has for the past few years had the upper hand against the Thunderbirds with three wins, three ties, and only one loss over the past 4 years. Most notable was the USports nationals’ championship final in 2022 where TRU beat UBC in a penalty shootout (PREVIEW: New-look WolfPack start 2024-25 season on the road 2024). The game will take place at 7 PM on Saturday, August 24th at Thunderbirds stadium.
Game rundown: The TRU Wolfpack men’s soccer team unfortunately lost 3-1. Despite an impressive first half with TRU being up 1-0 at halftime and even dominated the majority of play and chances. The team eventually succumbed to the pressure and was under substantial pressure for most of the second half. Even though the game didn’t provide TRU with any points for the standing it was still a massive step forward from the game on Friday against the University of Victoria. The team proved they can play up with some of the best teams and are now just missing to show it over a full 90 minutes before points will come (WolfPack strike first through Kang but can’t hold off T-Birds 2024). The next time the TRU men’s soccer team gets the chance will be Friday, August 30th in the team’s home opener against Trinity Western University (2024 Men’s Soccer Schedule).
References
2024 Men’s Soccer Schedule. Canadawest. (n.d.). https://canadawest.org/sports/msoc/2024-25/schedule
MSOC: UBC tops coaches poll in wide open Canada West. Canadawest Newsroom. (2024, August 22). https://canada-west.prezly.com/msoc-ubc-tops-coaches-poll-in-wide-open-canada-west
PREVIEW: New-look WolfPack start 2024-25 season on the road. GoWolfpack. (2024a, August 22). https://gowolfpack.ca/news/2024/8/22/mens-soccer-preview-new-look-wolfpack-start-2024-25-season-on-the-road.aspx
WolfPack strike first through Kang but can’t hold off T-Birds. GoWolfpack. (2024b, August 24). https://gowolfpack.ca/news/2024/8/24/mens-soccer-wolfpack-strike-first-through-kang-but-can-t-hold-off-t-birds.aspx