Canada West soccer returns to Abbotsford on Friday (Sept. 17), with both the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades men’s and women’s teams in action at Rotary Stadium.
The 2021 season will be the program’s debut at Rotary, as the past few seasons have seen the clubs play out of the MRC Fields and prior to that at Chilliwack’s Exhibition Park and Abbotsford’s Bateman Park.
The teams take on the University of Victoria Vikes for games on Friday (women – 5:30 p.m., men – 8 p.m.) and Sunday (w -1 p.m., m – 3 p.m.).
The women posted a 3-1 record in the exhibition play, while the Vikes opened CW play last weekend with a sweep of the UNBC Timberwolves. The women were ranked seventh in the CW preseason coaches poll.
“The last few weeks, we’ve built a lot of momentum and confidence in our style of play and the way we defend,” said Cascades head coach Niko Marcina. “The players love to be around each other, and we couldn’t be more confident going into this weekend. Victoria is a very strong opponent, but we’re in the right frame of mind to take them on.”
Key players for the Cascades in 2021 include: defender Brittany Costa, midfielder Halle McCambley and forwards Harneet Dadrao and Simi Lehal.
The men were ranked ninth in the CW preseason coaches poll, and take on a UVic squad that went 1-0-1 against UNBC. Head coach Tom Lowndes said he likes the look of his team heading into the season opener.
“It’s as talented a group as we’ve ever had, with a lot of depth,” he stated. “The group’s meshed well in the preseason and had some good results. I’m excited to see us finally get back to some action on Friday night.”
Key players for the men include: defenders Ryan Donald and Sahib Sidhu, midfielder Trevor Zanatta and forward Taylor Richardson. Abbotsford talents on the team consist of Parman Minhas, David Parfett and Ajai Boparai.
For more on the teams, visit gocascades.ca.
