WolfPack women’s soccer team aims for post-season return

“We have a lot of youngsters in and they’re all really talented and great kids, so I’m excited for where they can go,” Pennington said. “To be honest, I don’t think our standard is to make playoffs. Our standard is to be challenging at the top end of the table. The first step for us is making that next step into the playoff picture.”

Albanian forward Esi Lufo – who tallied nine goals last year to earn U Sports first-team All-Canadian honours – returns to pace the attack.

Fifth-year defenders Alexis Virgo and Bella Geremia are acting as co-captains, leading from the back.

“It’s been a good opportunity to give my wisdom as a player and person to the people who will be following up in the years after I’m gone,” said Virgo, the Ottawa product who referred to herself as a team grandmother.

“There is something really different about this team, a certain type of passion and bite. I think we can send a message across the board and show we’re not the underdogs, we’re someone to watch out for.”

Ursem, who was named to the U Sports All-Rookie Team last year, said strong pre-season performances in Ontario – including a 2-0 win over Queen’s University in Kingston – have buoyed team ambition.

“We’re off to a good start,” she said. “The team has been performing really well.”

The WolfPack were positioned well last year, a good bet to reach the playoffs with a 5-3 record just past the halfway point of the campaign. TRU was winless in its last six games and fell shy of the post-season.

“We started, I think, five rookies in every game last year – which is great, but the challenge is they had not done that before and I think they ran out of gas a little bit toward the end of the season,” Pennington added. “The hope is they’re going to be better, more competitively bloodied and ready for what’s going to be thrown at them.”

The Kamloops contingent on the roster includes Allison Hill, Aubrey Harasemchuk and Aliyah Deneault.

Deneault, a third-year defender, is expected to see her first Canada West regular season game action after a strong summer playing for Kamloops United in the B.C. Premier League.

“I’m looking forward to it so much,” she said. “I’m just so excited to be part of the team and have a different role. It’s going to fulfill some of my dreams, for sure.”

The WolfPack are scheduled to open the season with a pair of road games – against UNBC on Friday (Sept. 4) in Prince George and UBC Okanagan on Sunday (Sept. 6) in Kelowna.

“This is the year,” Deneault said when asked about post-season aspirations. “It feels different. It’s just our time, finally.”

by Marty Hastings

WolfPack women’s soccer team aims for post-season return

Our Community