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September 12 2012 - Over the Edge

Pictured: 2012 UNBC Women’s Soccer Team

Back Row (L to R): Andy Cameron (HQ), Catherine Blokker, Jessica Manning, Tiffany Bennet, Georgia Lahti, Riley Flannagan, Rebecca Irving, Sydney Wilson, Brianna Kozak, lain Flannagan (AC)
Front Row (L to R): Regan McMillan, Kirstan Cruse, Kaylee Harned, Kat Hartwig-Clay, Jordan Hall, Sidney Roy, Sydney Hall, Tanya Grob

Photo and caption courtesy UNBC Athletics

CAMERON TAKES OVER AS WOMENS’ COACH

GEOFF SARGENT
SPORTS EDITOR

The first taste of CIS sports in Prince George will come via the UNBC
Timberwolves women's soccer team, as they return from a Manitoba
road trip to host a pair of games vs UVic and UFV at the NCSSL fields
September 15th and 16th. A fast start for the team is key, with only
one game against each of the other twelve Canada West schools over a
punishing six week schedule. After the regular season concludes, the
top eight teams qualify for the postseason in late October.

Soccer season in CIS is designed to begin early and end before snowfall.
With little time to prepare and gel as a unit, incoming head coach Andy
Cameron wanted the players arriving in Prince George ready to play.
“The season is short and that creates challenges in preparation. You
expect the players to be playing at the highest possible level during
the summer and that they come in fit, so you can concentrate on the
tactical considerations in preparation for the season.”

Cameron, 50, enters the job holding a resume loaded with CIS head
coaching experience. His most recent posting was in Fredericton,
where he led the Varsity Reds women over the last nine seasons.
Prior to his time at UNB, he also held the Memorial University of

CANADA WES

CONTINUATION FROM PAGE 1

Newfoundland's women’s and Prince Edward Island men's soccer head
coaching positions. The Timberwolves have trained with exhibition
games against local men's and women's teams in advance of the
season. As most of the roster is drawn from Prince George and the
immediate area - the roster currently features 17 players, with 9
coming to UNBC directly from high school soccer in Prince George -
the bond between campus and the local community is an important
one that Cameron recognizes. “I like what | see locally with the youth
teams and the development that is taking place within the PGYSA,”he
said. “As we continue to build the program here at UNBC, the hope is
that we can attract these players to become part of the Timberwolves
soccer program.”

The team sees over half its roster return from 2011, which gels with
Coach Cameron's philosophy of team play. He did not reveal his
thoughts on individual positions or players, preferring instead to
emphasize a focus on playing as a team unit and adjusting tactics
based on the opposition. On the sidelines, he appears patient, his
voice being heard above the game noise only rarely, and usually to
encourage the midfield and forwards to pressure for turnovers.

PACWEST in 2008. The soccer program
is less developed, being only five
years old, and without significant
accomplishments to date in the CCAA.
With the addition of full-time coaches
holding decades of experience at the
CIS level, and the availability of an
all-weather indoor turf surface to
allow for year-round training at the
Northern Sports Centre, UNBC's soccer
program should now develop at a
much faster pace.

Timberwolves fans and  UNBC
students are already known for their

| Over the edge.indd 8

passion and support for basketball,
and the support should only increase
along with the level of play as
the campus welcomes increased
competition, more media attention,
and more community involvement
with the move to CIS. Important
dates to note in the next few weeks
are September 15th, the date of the
first women's soccer home game,
September 22nd, when the men's
soccer team plays at home for the first
time, and September 29th, when the
UNBC basketball alumni game is held
at 7pm. Both soccer teams host their

new conference opponents at the
NCSSL fields, located between 15th
Ave, 18th Ave, and Ospika Blvd. All
women's games kick off at noon, and
the men follow the women at 2:15pm
when both teams are in town.

The women's soccer program at UNBC is still developing, with major
struggles in recent years. Over the last two seasons in the Canadian
Collegiate Athletic Association's PACWEST division, the Timberwolves
scored only once in a 2011 season that saw them finish 0-12, and

they posted a 0-11-1 record in 2010. As PACWEST is mostly made

up of community colleges in BC, taking a struggling program into

an established conference featuring perennial national titans such

as Trinity Western may seem unenviable, but Cameron remains
optimistic. “I tried not to have any preconceived opinions about the
program or the players; | wanted to be as objective about the situation
as possible,” he said. “So the first thing was to assess the situation
when | arrived and last year’s coaching staff have been very helpful

in identifying some of the strengths and weaknesses in the program.
After being here a few months, my thoughts are that there is a good
core of players to build on.’ Coach Cameron and everyone involved
with UNBC Athletics hopes to see solid fan turnout and loud support
all season, starting right from kickoff at noon on September 15 against

Victoria.

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09/09/2012 9:26:13 PM |