Douglas College’s women’s soccer head coach Chris Laxton is hoping to capitalize on the stellar season the team had on the pitch last year.
The Royal women won all three of their first games this season starting with a 3-2 win over Langara College on Sept. 9 followed by a 3-0 shutout against Kwantlen Polytechnic University on Saturday and a 2-1 win over Quest University at home on Sunday.
Laxton, who took over the position of head coach in April 2014, led the team to a bronze medal in the PacWest provincials in a 4-3 shootout win over Kwantlen Polytechnic University last season. This season, he’d like to keep the momentum going – especially now that the women know what they are capable of.
“We’re getting the results but there’s still lots to improve on. I think we’re set up with a core group that have been through this last year. We had a good start to last year and did see a lot of adversity but then bounced back,” Laxton said.
This year, Laxton hopes his team will stay consistent throughout the season. With three wins already under their belts, it’s easy to lose focus, and Laxton wants to make sure the women stay on course all the way through to the end of the season setting them up for a strong showing at provincials.
“I also think the mindset of the group is much different this year. Last year we were sort of a surprise team, whereas this year I think we come into it with much higher expectations,” Laxton said.
An important part of keeping the team on track, Laxton said, is to make sure the women are playing the full 90 minutes.
Of the things the women are doing right, scoring goals is most important, Laxton said.
The Royals scored eight goals in their last three games.
The team’s defence also had a strong showing with a shutout win for Royals’ goalkeeper Rebecca Mainardi over Kwantlen plus solid blocking by the back line, Laxton added.
“We’ve shown a lot of balance, and I think we’ve shown a lot of depth. I’ve had players step into different roles and really embrace it, really flourish whether they’re in for the last 20 minutes to see a game out or just to start the first 20 minutes to get us energy off the bat, I think everyone’s been contributing to the results,” he said.
This year’s team features eight new players, including New Westminster Secondary graduate Naomi Noda, but that doesn’t mean they are any less important to the team than the large contingency of returning players, Laxton said.
“We have a large returning class, so we are sort of building it with two years in mind knowing that a lot of them will be departing after this year.
Noda, who played club soccer as well as on the high school team, did well during the preseason and Laxton said he has a lot of confidence in the freshman.
“I thought near the end of preseason she was showing a lot of confidence and a lot better understanding of her responsibilities and her role on the team,” he added.
Looking forward, the team is going to focus on their own game rather than concerning themselves with the other PacWest teams.
“After this weekend we’ll get every team two more times after and then we can start creating a bit more game-specific, team-specific plans as we build up for what will be a fourth meeting with some of them, hopefully, in the provincial semis and then hopefully in the provincial final,” he said.
The Royals’ women are back on the field Saturday, Sept. 19 against Vancouver Island University, and Capilano University on Sunday.
Men kick off season with wins
Douglas’ men’s soccer team also had a winning first week of PacWest play.
In their opening game, the men defeated Langara College 2-1 last Wednesday and followed that up with a 3-1 victory over Kwantlen Polytechnic University on Saturday and Quest University on Sunday.
This weekend, the Royals’ men’s team take on Vancouver Island University on Saturday and Capilano University on Sunday.
