Kamloops United to fly new colours in League1 BC home openers

Added KUFC women’s head coach Haley Bartram: “My goals are to win and to play some entertaining soccer.”

Last year, the Kamloops Youth Soccer Association and Rivers FC (the previous branding of the L1BC club) merged to form Kamloops United, which is also chasing expansion into the B.C. Soccer Premier League.

Of its L1BC offerings, the men’s program is further along in its development, thanks in part to coaching stability.

Antulov, also head coach of the TRU WolfPack men’s soccer team, has been at the helm every year and has a track record of helping players sign professional contracts.

“I think players are also looking at that, at the connections that we have as a group, as a club, myself, David Ousted (KUFC sporting director and former Whitecaps FC goalkeeper) and other guys have that ability to help these guys get to other places on the pitch,” Antulov said.

The KUFC men’s bench boss said the team is welcoming more out-of-town recruits, including some who toil for the UNBC Timberwolves of Prince George, UBC Okanagan of Kelowna, St. Mary’s University of Halifax and University of New Brunswick.

“I think we’ve just built a really good word-of-mouth over the last couple of years with everything that we’re building as a club,” Antulov said, noting the club caters to work and housing needs of its recruits.

About 50 per cent of the KUFC roster this season will be composed of non-TRU players, according to Antulov.

Neither the men nor women have reached the playoffs since joining L1BC in 2022 – and that will not change in 2025.

There are no playoffs this season, with the regular-season titlists advancing directly to their respective Canadian championships — League1 Canada Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship and TELUS Canadian Championship.

“Now we’re kind of in that mode where it’s like, let’s win,” said Elijah Dos Santos, a defender for the KUFC men. “We have the boys to do it. We have the people backing us, the supporters — whether that’s the fans, our GM, all the people who put time in and put forward money to the program to make it go. I think everybody’s on the same page. Let’s win. Let’s get that Canadian championship berth now.”

That will be a tall task considering the team’s records since inception: 3-4-5 in 2022, 4-4-6 in 2023 and 4-1-7 in 2024.

“But, definitely, we want to challenge for that top spot,” Antulov said, noting again his club’s intention to play an offensive brand and fill the old onion bag. “We like to think we’ve got a team that is going to be a good, well-rounded squad that can put a lot of pressure on the top two or three teams.”

The KUFC women posted one victory in each of their first three seasons and finished last in league standings in each of those campaigns.

“I am seeing progression,” said forward Taylor Miller, a Kamloops product. “I’ve been here all four years that we’ve been around, so seeing the team come around last year was really cool. Yeah, we got more points, which was nice. Our buy-in was a lot better last year and I think that had a lot to do with it.”

United was 1-1-10 in its expansion season, 1-0-13 in its sophomore campaign and 1-4-7 last year to secure its best point total to date.

“I’m very excited to have a new coach in the sense that it is a female coach,” Miller said. “It’s our first female head coach for the program and Haley is amazing. She really understands what you want as a player. And I think that she’s going to have a really good concept of the other teams. She’s from the coast. I think it’s going to be a really good year.”

Lyle Dos Santos is general manager for KUFC and has influenced the transformation of its organizational structure.

Among his ideas for the 2025 L1BC season is free match entry for spectators throughout the season.

“We know that it’s a challenging economic time and families are feeling the pinch,” said Lyle Dos Santos, who is Bartram’s husband and Elijah Dos Santos’ father.

“And so we spent a year working on this to get corporate sponsors to help us cover the ticket prices. So the tickets technically aren’t free. There is some goodwill coming from our corporate partners to make this a reality.”

Dos Santos said the club is introducing a Community Support Fund designed to remove financial barriers to youth soccer.

Donations will be accepted at the gate and via QR code.

The women’s tilt is slated for 4:00 p.m., with the men scheduled to get underway at 6:30 p.m.

“It’s exciting for the players to get the opportunity to wear the new crest, the new colours and represent our community in League1 BC,” Lyle Dos Santos said.

by Marty Hastings

Kamloops United to fly new colours in League1 BC home openers

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