Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

THOMSPON RIVERS UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

WolfPack men’s soccer to kick off 2024 season this weekend

Aug 21, 2024 | 6:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — Picture day for the Thompson Rivers University men’s soccer team reveals a lot of new faces on the pitch for the ‘Pack.

“Out of the ten players who are returning, really only four players got significant playing time last year,” TRU Men’s Soccer head coach John Antulov tells CFJC Today. “It’s quite an overhaul of the program.”

With so many new faces, veterans of the program like third-year defender Elijah Dos Santos will be relied upon to step into leadership roles. However, Dos Santos is excited for the 2024 recruiting class that Coach Antulov has brought into the WolfDen.

“All the boys behind us are fantastic — so talented, so smart, so gifted, and honestly just great listeners,” Dos Santos explains. “The positivity in training — and I’ll keep saying that — the positivity is unreal. The environment has probably been the best it’s been in a long, long time, especially since I’ve been here, so I’m pumped up, super excited for the season.”

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The season gets underway this weekend, as the WolfPack travel to the island on Friday to take on the University of Victoria Vikes, before a date with the reigning U SPORTS bronze medallists, the UBC Thunderbirds.

“It’ll be a litmus test this weekend. We’re going right into the fire,” Antulov says. ”You know what? That’s good for us. It’s good for the guys — the new players who haven’t played in CanadaWest — to see where we are and where we need to be.”

Last season, the WolfPack struggled to find their offensive identity early in the year. They didn’t score a goal until the fifth game of the season and didn’t register a win until game number six. Fourth-year midfielder Jonathan Rinaldi believes this squad should find their footing early in the season.

“In CanadaWest, every team, every game is so competitive,” Rinaldi tells CFJC Today. “We’ve got a lot of good attacking pieces coming in this season, and they can make a difference with some individual quality, which will help us out, for sure.”

For his part, Antulov echoes both Rinaldi’s and Dos Santos’ thoughts about the quality of his new recruits. However, he’s a bit cagey when it comes to how the season will progress, and knows that he and his coaching staff will have to work hard to bring this group together.

“It’s going to be a solid recruiting class. It’s going to take a little time for everyone to gel,” Antulov states. “Like I said, the talent level is there, but it’s just going to take a little time for everybody to gel together.”

The WolfPack’s first home games are August 30 and 31 as they welcome the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades to Hillside Stadium.