Two very successful soccer programs have smashed together to form the core of this year's Capilano University men's team, and the Blues are hoping the mix will propel them back to the top of the PacWest standings.
Six players on this year's team come from Sutherland secondary, including a handful of players that went to back-to-back provincial AAA finals, winning gold in 2013 and silver in 2014. The other well-represented squad is the West Van FC club team, including several members of the team that won this year's U21 Provincial Cup after losing in last year's final. Capilano head coach Paul Dailly is counting on the players from those two programs to bring championship attitudes to a team that is in need of a boost.
"Just to go through those experiences obviously helps you coming into our situation as well," said Dailly. "We're going to be in the thick of things as well come playoff time, hoping to be competitive and be in those difficult situations with very meaningful games."
One thread uniting almost all of the players is a shared home identity — Dailly is still finalizing his roster but said that close to 90 per cent of the team will be made up of players from the North Shore.
"They know of each other and know each other," he said. "They're definitely comfortable with each other already and like each other, which is great. They get along on and off the field, which is tremendous. That definitely helps going into your season. They've worked extremely hard in the preseason.... They're looking sharp, they're looking fit."
The Blues start their regular season on the road against Kwantlen Sept. 9 and Quest Sept. 12 before playing their first home game Sunday, Sept. 13 starting at 2:30 p.m. (noon for the women) against Vancouver Island University. The goal is to have several points in the bag by the end of that weekend - last year the Blues found out just how hard life can be if you're slow out of the gates. In 2014 Capilano started 1-3 but had their only win taken away because of the use of an ineligible player. By the end of the second week of the season they were 0-5. "I think (the forfeit) just took a little bit of wind out of the guys' sails," said Dailly. "They got that first win, and to have it taken away like that - the next thing you know, we're bottom of the league looking up. Unfortunately if you get off to an 0-5 start in this league you're against the eight ball right away.
We did turn it around as a team and a unit and the second half was much more encouraging, we played a lot better. We were tougher to score on and obviously got some results because of that but in the end we missed out on the playoffs by two points."
The team looks a lot different this year but there are some key players back, including captain Devan Woolley, a two-time PacWest all-star in his fourth year out of Sutherland.
"He's been rock solid for us, he really has," said Dailly. "He's gotten better every year we've had him as well. We're expecting him to make another leap forward again." Other veterans include Thomas Arnott, a fifth-year defender from West Vancouver secondary, and North Vancouver's Stewart Elliott.
Dailly said he was excited about his rookie class, led by Sutherland grad Ty Barbieri who has already made his mark, scoring a hat trick in a 6-1 exhibition win over the West Van FC U21s (a team that was missing several players who are now wearing Capilano colours). "I've known his dad for years, I've known Ty for years and I've seen him grow up in front of my eyes," Dailly said of Barbieri. "He's quite the athlete - basketball, ultimate, soccer.... He brings a lot to us. He's very good attacking-wise. When we have the ball he makes smart runs, looks to get in behind. Hopefully he's going to score his fair share of goals for us."
All of the Blues will be trying to halt an uncharacteristic drought. The Blues have won 11 provincial gold medals and six national championships since the league began play in 1970 but have not made the playoffs for the past four seasons since finishing second in 2011.
"When you say it like that it really stings," said Dailly when reminded of the drought. "We've just come up short quite a few times in a row here."
Dailly was adamant, however, that those fortunes would change this season.
"To be honest, we're done with that," he said of missing the playoffs. "There are guys here like Devan and Thomas that have gone through these tough times with us. They've seen a lot of success with the West Van program but for whatever reason they haven't been able to do it up here. Hopefully this year everybody is on board, everybody wants the same result. They're working extremely hard to get it done."
For Dailly, everything starts with Game 1. "Obviously we want to get off to a way better start than we did last year - that's going to be the key coming out of the gates," he said. "We want to right the ship. We're starting fresh this year, it's a fresh slate, lots of new bodies.... We'll just take it game-by-game, half-by-half and look to build up some favourable results, get situated in the top part of the standings and hopefully go from there."
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Earlier this year Capilano head coach Paul Dailly earned the B.C. Soccer Adult Coach of the Year award for his work with West Van FC of the Vancouver Metro Soccer League.
