No Cam Hundal, no Craig Gorman? No problem.
Even though two of the most prolific scorers in University of Victoria soccer history have graduated, the Vikes still have enough in the quiver to be ranked No. 2 in the sa国际传媒 West men鈥檚 soccer coaches pre-season poll.
The UBC Thunderbirds, with four fifth-year players returning, received 12 of 14 first-place ballots cast by the coaches in the conference. Behind UBC鈥檚 162 points was UVic with 146. Rounding out the top-five were the Calgary Dinos with 130 points, the Alberta Golden Bears with 129 points and one of the other first-place votes, and Fraser Valley with 119 points.
Teams received 14 points for a first-place vote, 13 for second place and so on down.
The Vikes season begins today in Kelowna against UBC-Okanagan, which was ranked 10th in the pre-season coaches poll with 57 points, and continues Sunday in Kamloops against the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, which was rated No. 9 by the coaches with 61 points.
鈥淓ven without [graduated] Hundal and Gorman and [Dominic] Colantonio, we are still fairly strong,鈥� said Vikes head coach Bruce Wilson.
The biggest loss is the 2015 sa国际传媒 West and CIS MVP Hundal, who went on to pro trials in Europe. You don鈥檛 replace a player like that easily. But the Vikes feel they are still in a solid place with an effective returning core and some touted newcomers.
鈥淚 am feeling good about the team,鈥� said Wilson.
鈥淲e were 5-1 in the preseason and I am happy with the way things are going.鈥�
But the scoring issue comes to the forefront with Hundal, Gorman and Colantonio gone.
鈥淚t will be interesting to see what we do to score goals this season,鈥� admitted Wilson.
The Vikes coach pointed to Michael Baart, the dangerous third-year forward out of St. Michaels University School, fourth-year Paulo Dait and the darting second-year Isaac Koch as offensive-leaning players who will have to step up.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for those players to score goals for us,鈥� said Wilson.
鈥淎nd we can play [fifth-year veteran] Sam Prette in a wide-attacker position, and we will be looking for him to create things from there.鈥�
The defence will again be anchored by the standout goaltender Noah Pawlowski and the Vikes鈥� fifth-year captain and astute back-line general Adam Ravenhill. A key addition on the back side is six-foot-four rookie central defender Evan Libke from Handsworth Secondary in North Vancouver, who Wilson has injected as an immediate true freshman starter.
Tarnvir Bhandal, a reliable and productive fourth-year player out of St. Andrew鈥檚, provides crucial veteran depth in the midfield.
Of the things that concern Wilson on opening weekend are the weather and health.
鈥淲e do have injuries, and couple of starters out to start the season, which is too bad,鈥� he said.
鈥淏elieve it or not, we鈥檙e starting conference games before school even begins, and it is going to be extremely hot in the Interior. But we started training camp Aug. 1 and are ready to get going.鈥�
The other teams in the sa国际传媒 West coaches poll are the Saskatchewan Huskies ranked sixth with 110 points, Trinity Western seventh with 109, Mount Royal eight with 102 points and a first-place ballot, the Lethbridge Pronghorns 11th with 51, UNBC 12th with 40 and the Winnipeg Wesmen and Grant MacEwan 13th and 14th with 29 each.
There are eight sa国际传媒 West men鈥檚 soccer playoff berths up for grabs.
The Vikes women鈥檚 soccer team opens its sa国际传媒 West season at Centennial Stadium next Saturday against UBC.
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