Capilano University women’s soccer coach Dennis Kindel is hoping that in his second year he can shift the Blues into high gear.
The Capilano women will begin regular season play on the road against Quest University Wednesday, Sept. 7 before suiting up for their home opener Saturday, Sept. 10 against Langara. The Blues are coming off a season in which they finished last in the PacWest league with a record of 2-10-3, scoring the fewest goals and giving up the most. This season Kindel has brought in new players with the aim of making a fast turnaround. Emphasis on the word fast.
“We added definitely more skill and more speed on the new recruits. That’s something we were lacking last year – especially the speed,” he said. “We have more firepower up front for sure.”
Last year the Blues scored just nine times in 15 games. That will definitely change this time around, said Kindel.
“We have some new players that are all about getting goals,” he said, adding that the real key to the season will be keeping the ball out of their own net. “If you don’t get scored on, you don’t lose. If we can keep that, I know the goals will come. That’s the biggest part – we will get the goals, it’s just staying together as a unit and playing tough and keeping the ball out of the net.”
The Blues, a dominant program for many years, are trying to bust out of a long slump. The Capilano women last made the playoffs in 2009. In 2014, the year before Kindel took over, they failed to win a game. Last year Kindel inherited a team that included 15 brand new players and the team struggled, collecting only two wins in 15 games.
“I definitely learned a lot for sure,” Kindel said about his first season as a college coach. “We’re trying to get everyone this year to buy into what is being asked, and that is definitely happening with our new players. And getting them motivated to go out and not just perform well but actually go get wins. That’s the biggest thing. Last year we had 15 new players to the league, and now it’s at that point where we’re older now and we’ve got to start getting some results.”
The Blues did finish last season on a high note by beating first place Douglas College, who would go on to win the PacWest title, on the last day of the regular season. That confidence-boosting win seems to have transferred over to positive early results this year, as the Blues have already notched impressive results, including a 2-1 exhibition win over Thompson Rivers University, a CIS team.
The Blues are still young but not as green as they were last season. There are 10 rookies on the roster, nine second-years and one third-year player: forward Marsha Chessire, a Sutherland grad who played two seasons at Langara before transferring back to the North Shore.
Other players expected to lead the charge are second-years Natalie Leclerc, Jessica Price and Juliana Mannella, as well as rookie Arin McIldoon, who is expected to make her mark in central midfield right off the bat.
With a year under his belt and all his own recruits in place, Kindel said the time to win is now.
“It’s not like youth soccer where it’s just equal playing time – you need results,” he said. “We want them to have fun and enjoy the program, but as a team we want to win national championships.”
Step 1 in that process is to get into the playoffs, a task that has been made easier this season as Kwantlen has dropped out of the league. That means there are now only five teams battling for four playoff spots.
“It’s been a while for Cap women, so that’s the goal – first thing, get in the playoffs. I’m pretty confident that we can get into provincials and then into the provincial final,” Kindel said. “It’s the second year and now every player that has come in has come in from me, so for me I definitely set the expectations very high on myself. Because now it’s my crop of players, and hopefully we do very well with them. We’re expecting good things.”
The home opener against Langara is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 10 starting at 1 p.m. with the men’s game to follow at 3 p.m.
