Soccer Bears start strong with record-breaking debut

The Golden Bears soccer team will face off against the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves this weekend with two wins under their belt — and a whole lot of confidence.

This mature Bears team will be looking to keep their momentum going after a remarkable 11 goals to none against Mount Royal University gave them one of their best starts to a CanWest season. UNBC, meanwhile, were on the wrong end of 11 goals in their game against the University of Victoria Vikings, and will be seeking their first conference points.

Although they may have come close in a 3-1 loss during their inaugural CanWest game, getting a result against the in-form Bears this weekend will be extremely tough. On the other hand, as the Bears are fresh from mauling CanWest newcomers once already, they might expect to repeat their success against UNBC. But head coach Len Vickery refuses to get carried away.

“They’re going to be new — of course, they’ve been bloodied, but now they are going to know the demands of CanWest from the Victoria Vikings” Vickery said. “They’re going to come in with another week of practice under their belts and a good idea of what to expect ... Every team progresses from week to week, so it’s going to be another tough game.”

Bears forward Marcus Johnstone, who currently leads the conference in points and was named the Canada West Male Athlete of the week after the opening week of the season, also urged caution at this early stage in the season.

“No team likes to be down, so they’re going to have a little bit of pride to fight for.” Johnstone said.

As the CanWest points leader of the 2011 season, the striker should know. The Bears themselves had already lost a game at this point last season, and struggled significantly to pick up points throughout the first month of CanWest action.

Although they managed to salvage the season and claim a trophy, the team knows better than to let early results get to their head.

“There is no natural order of things until teams have played a number of games,” Vickery said.

His team — especially the returning players — would agree, with Johnstone in particular echoing Vickery’s words:

“Every game’s different,” the veteran striker insisted. “We’re taking these games one at a time.”

© Gateway Student Journalism Society — All Rights Reserved