Game Information
Date: Friday, August 25
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: TWU Field, Langley B.C.
Watch:
canadawest.tv
Date: Saturday, August 26
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: MRC Sports Complex, Abbotsford B.C.
Watch:
canadawest.tv
Season Story
KAMLOOPS – One season after winning it all, the Thompson Rivers WolfPack are back in action and looking to defend their U SPORTS National Championship title beginning this weekend in the Fraser Valley.
After recording the program's best regular season since it joined Canada West with a record of 7-3-5, the 'Pack went on what can only be described as a magical run at the national championship tournament.
Qualifying as hosts, TRU won three-straight games via a shootout including the championship winner against the UBC Thunderbirds in
front of over 2,400 hometown fans at Hillside Stadium.
While that team will live forever in TRU and Kamloops sporting history, it's time to see what the program can serve up as an encore in 2023.
Gone are many of the key contributors from last year including
Jan Pirretas Glasmacher,
Josh Banton,
Jackson Gardner,
Marco Favaro and more. In their place the 'Pack have brought in nine new faces with a trio of experienced transfers –
Dylan Pauw,
Michael Ojo and
Harry Taylor - expected to make an immediate impact.
It will be a tough test for TRU as they open their season against the Trinity Western Spartans on Friday and the UFV Cascades on Saturday.
TRU and Trinity split a pair of games last year with both teams earning a 2-1 win on their home fields. The WolfPack got the better of UFV with a 1-0 win in Abbotsford followed by a 0-0 tie in Kamloops.
Key Performer
Elijah Dos Santos / defence / 2nd year / Coquitlam B.C.
Named to the Canada West All-Rookie team last season,
Elijah Dos Santos helped lead the WolfPack to the U SPORTS National Championship in his first season of play. A talented centre back, Dos Santos was a key part of a WolfPack defence that kept seven clean sheets in CW play in 2022. The business major was named to the U SPORTS Championship All-Star Team after playing all 360 minutes for the 'Pack while scoring one goal in regulation and also tallying in all three shootouts en route to the team capturing the first U SPORTS title in school history.
Key Additions
Michael Ojo / midfield / 2nd year / Winnipeg, MB / SFU
Dylan Pauw / defence / 3rd year / London, ENG / Peninsula College
Harry Taylor / defence / 2nd year / London, ENG / Aldershot Town
By The Numbers
4: TRU was slotted in fourth in the annual Coaches Pre-Season Poll
10: TRU had the second-stingiest defence in the conference last season, allowing just 10 goals in 14 games.
2: Patrick Izett won the BC League 1 title just weeks ago with the Whitecaps Academy. Giving the WolfPack midfielder two major titles in the last eight months.
Coach's Take
John Antulov, Head Coach
On how pre-season went:
"I think it's been a solid pre-season, we haven't had everybody in fully yet but we've been able to integrate all the new players. All the new guys are fitting in well so I'm just happy to see everyone's progression so far."
On if the team feels a target on their back as national champs:
"Everybody is going to be pretty pumped up to play us for sure but at the end of the day it's about focusing on what we need to do and integrating the new players into our system. A lot of the guys returning from last year didn't get a lot of minutes so it's up to them to step up to the plate and see what they can do."
On playing TWU and UFV:
"These are always two tough places for us to go and play on the road, especially for our first games of the year. For the last four or five years we've opened our season at home which has been an advantage so going on the road will be difficult especially two teams that we always have huge battles with. I think all the teams are in a bit of a transition with losing a lot of players but at the end of the day they are going to be even matches and really tough games.
