The Douglas College Royals are off to strong starts in PacWest soccer.
The women kicked off this season in encouraging fashion, winning their first three matches, including back-to-back wins over Kwantlen and Quest universities this weekend.
Earlier in the week, Douglas opened with a 2-1 win over Langara College, before shutting out Kwantlen 2-0 on Saturday and winning 2-1 over Quest on Sunday.
Danae Harding leads the women’s team with three goals in three games, while Marni McMillan and Nicolle Fraser contributed two and one goal, respectively.
“The results have been good in terms of building confidence and building a belief the team can win week in and week out, but the performances have been less than stellar,” said first-year Royals coach Chris Laxton, who took over the job in April.
But with eight new players on board, five of whom started on opening day, the short-term future looks bright for the Royals.
“There has been no lack of effort, … and spells of really excellent soccer,” added Laxton. “But it’s early, and if we’re playing our best (now), we’re in trouble.”
Laxton is committed to playing a possession game with the object of playing attacking football. But at the end of the day, it’s all about playing intelligent soccer and taking advantage of the situation on the pitch, Laxton added.
“I want smart players,” he said.
Men unbeaten
The Douglas Royals men’s team also started the college season with an unbeaten record.
The Royals drew 2-2 with Langara mid-week before blanking both Kwantlen and Quest in weekend fixtures.
Marc Minceili posted the back-to-back shutouts for Douglas.
Simrin Rattanpal scored the game-winning 1-0 goal for the Royals over Quest on Sunday.
Burnaby Central grad Spencer Deboice tallied a pair of goals and Koneh Kalifala from Byrne Creek added a single marker in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Kwantlen.
Nicholas Pineda Graham scored both goals in the tie with Langara.
“From preseason to now, every game we’ve gotten a little better,” said Douglas co-coach Robby Toor.
The Royals play Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo on Saturday, before returning home to host Capilano University at Town Centre Stadium on Sunday.
The women kick off the Sunday matches at 1 p.m. The men’s team follows.
