Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

LEAGUE 1 BC SOCCER

Rivers FC kicks off season on Sunday with a doubleheader at Hillside Stadium

Apr 28, 2023 | 4:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — The warm weather has arrived just in time for the hope openers for Kamloops’ local League 1 BC soccer team, Rivers FC. Both teams will kick off the season on Sunday afternoon (April 30) at Hillside Stadium.

“I’m so excited,” Kamloops product Molly McLeod says. “We’ve got a great group of girls, and we’ve got [Head Coach] Mark [Pennington] joining us this, and everyone’s working hard, so I’m pumped.”

“Collectively, we’re good. We’re ready to go,” men’s side forward Dylan Hooper tells CFJC Today. “We’ve got some final additions coming in now that university and other commitments are done. I think it’s going be good.”

Last year the men’s side finished the season with three wins, four draws, and five losses. For Head Coach John Antulov, the League 1 season is an opportunity for the young athletes who play for him at Thompson Rivers University some games against top-notch opponents.

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“For them, I think it’s really important to keep playing against high-level competition, and it’s not going to get any easier,” Antulov says. “With BC League 1, a lot of the teams on the coast are stacking up with a lot of ex-pros, guys who have played at really high levels. We actually got younger this year, so it’s going to be a real challenge, a real test for our guys — but you know what? For them, this is what they need to try and get to that next level.”

Hooper played with Rivers FC last year and was part of the TRU WolfPack team that won a USports National Championship on home turf last November. With the core of the team made up of WolfPack soccer players, he believes Rivers FC will have an advantage when it comes to chemistry.

“Chemistry is a big thing — making sure you’re all on the same page is crucial for a team’s success,” Hooper says. “We have a lot of WolfPack guys, so I think we can get those newer guys settled, bring them into the team and just get them used to how we play. I shouldn’t be too much of an issue.”

Returning player Molly McLeod is a Kamloops product who plays her university soccer at St. Mary’s in Nova Scotia. She’s excited for the opportunity to play high-level soccer at home, as she prepares for her final season of USports back east.

“I love playing in Kamloops, just being back in my hometown,” McLeod says. “Then going back to Nova Scotia — playing with so many different players, I think it’s wicked.”

The women’s game kicks off at 2:00 pm on Sunday at Hillside Stadium, while the men take to the pitch at 4:30 pm. Both sides are hoping they have a packed house to cheer them on.