Head on over to the Pickford Cinema to watch a screening of Rise and Shine: The Jay Demerit story on Dec. 10.  I haven't seen it yet, but will definitely be in attendance!

With only 4 months left to go, there are a lot of exciting things happening around the club.  I caught up with a few people that are heavily involved and asked them what they are doing to prepare for the upcoming season.

Head Coach Lance Calloway: It is great to think the tryouts are just around the corner as I set up the dates, time and location at Whatcom CC’s Orca Field for Saturday March 17 & 24 at 8-10 AM.  I am waiting for us to get our league schedule hopefully this weekend and then I can begin to coordinate with some opponents for exhibition matches to prepare the squad.  I just recently have been put in touch with an opportunity to that we may have a match against Myerscough College a squad from Liverpool so we will be looking for an exhibition in mid April tentatively.  I also am pretty involved in getting the WSA Rapids set for their season and working with our coach Mark Lackey and helping him with some aspects with the squad.  I have spoken with many of these guys, as they will be trying out for BUFC so I am able to also additionally evaluate these players.  The Rapids look to be a strong group this year with a lot of talent, now the question is can these players adjust to the differences between the indoor and outdoor game. 

I also asked him what he is having the 3 players already signed do:  I am working with Mike Locke from Bellingham Athletic Club as he is preparing a workout routine for players needing to gain fitness. I have also invited those who have expressed interest in BUFC to come out for the Rapids semi pro indoor squad. A good core of BUFC will come from the Rapids and it will get you soccer fit as it requires a great fitness level and the standard of play is pretty high with quick speed of play. We have a fairly large pool of players at Rapids training as it makes it realistic for two teams with line changes to play against.

Assistant Coach Scott Caldwell: I am working with Lance to prepare the season schedule, to get ready for tryouts and help think of training ideas/fitness sessions to help prepare the boys for the upcoming season - we are getting excited as the season is coming up on us, especially talking with Lance about some of the great opportunities that Jeff and he have been working on. I can't wait for it to start - and am surprised about how many people know about it.

Midfielder Matt Zigulis: To prepare for the season I'm keeping things pretty simple for now.  I'm trying to regain my fitness through running, conditioning, and some weight training.  I'm playing for the WSA Rapids indoor team this winter to keep my touch and play competitively.  As the season gets nearer I will definitely plan on increasing my level of activity so that I am prepared physically and mentally for the season.

President Jeff McIntyre: Over the next 4 months, we hope to accomplish a few things.  We want to create a season ticket holder package and set up an online ticketing system.  We want to create a few more partnerships with local companies.  We will be launching our “away” kits as well as our 2012 marketing campaign.  In big news, our tryout dates have been set for March. 

 It's been a season of ups and downs for the WWU Men’s soccer team.  They only won 5 games on the year and only 3 GNAC wins, but lost 6 of their last 8.  The season started out promising with the team scoring 10 goals in their first 6 games, but only had 8 in their last 9 games, and saw the season take a turn for the worse.  They finished 5th (out of 6) in the standings on the year and have plenty of room to improve.

            The highlight of the year for me was watching Oscar Jimenez edge closer and closer to school and conference records for career assists. He tied for the school record at 22 and was only 2 out from tying the GNAC record of 24.  (I would love to see him terrorize defenses on the side of the field, sending in cross after cross in a black and white striped kit…hint hint) 

            There are signs of future success as they are only graduating 6 but will lose team leaders Kellan Brown and Jimenez, along with Tyler Bjork who has had a pretty good year too. They will only lose one Senior in the back which is good news for the Vikings (a very young defense and GK this year is probably to blame for lack of defensive success) as next year will be more promising as players mature.  But replacing those lost seniors will be tough: "You can never replace players of this caliber.  It is important that everyone on our roster get better over the course of the year to make up for the loss of our quality senior class, but with each new year we will have a new team, with a different chemistry and different leaders.  Last year we started the season with some proven star players," said coach Travis Connell. "Now we have a roster with players that could be star players.  I am excited to see which players emerge and prove themselves as star players throughout the off-season.

            One bright spot on the year though was the final home game against undefeated Simon Fraser. "Earning a draw in our final game of the season against the #1 ranked team in the NCAA was an exciting moment, but the best thing about every season is the time we get to spend with the players," said Connell.  "Being able to get to know these fantastic young men is the best part of my job."

            Connell looking to the future said, "As a coach, you learn things about your players and your team every year.  The coaching staff is much more prepared to lead and motivate this group moving forward.  We have a ton of talent on our roster and a hunger that will fuel us."  Hopefully they can build on that.  Having to "work through the fact that we fell short of our expectations" was a low spot on the year, but the team and coaching staff is the better for it.

Looking forward to next year and can't wait to see what coach Connell can do with the squad.

Hopefully its a sign of things to come (probably not as it would be a prefect season…) but the WWU Womens soccer team ended the year with 5 unbeaten games, all shutouts.  A goal by Justina MacDowell was the difference as WWU beat Simon Fraser 1-0.  The Vikings end their season 10-5-3 overall and 3rd in the GNAC.  Jamie Arthurs is credited with her GNAC leading 11th shutout on the year, and is now second in WWU history with 23 (she still has one year left).

Seven seniors played in their final game for WWU. They were MacDowell, Megan Chapin (Seattle/Garfield), Kelly Cates (Poulsb/North Kitsap), Emily Frankland (Sammamish/Skyline), Katie Griffith (Burlington/Burlington-Edison), Alicia Patten (Seattle/Holy Names Academy) and Emily Warman (Sedro-Woolley).

Western Washington vs. Simon Fraser
Date: 11/04/11 Attendance: 53
Goals by Period           1    2      Total
Western Washington    1     0   ---   1
Simon Fraser                0      0   ---   0
SCORING SUMMARY:
WWU - MacDowell (Houplin), 36:33
Shots: Western Washington 23, Simon Fraser 4
Corner kicks: Western Washington 5, Simon Fraser 0
Fouls: Western Washington 8, Simon Fraser 6
Saves: Western Washington 1 (Arthurs 1), Simon Fraser 9 (Ng 9)

The WWU men rallied twice to tie SFU 2-2 and end their perfect season.  They became the only team to not lose to nationally ranked #1 SFU this season.  Simon Fraser University scored first and took the lead again in the 65th.  It was senior night and senior Keith Ferris tied it up in the 85th to push the game to overtime.

“I’m really proud of all our guys,” said Western coach Travis Connell. “We’ve had some frustrations this season, but in the final week, we’ve taken the No.1 team in the region (Seattle Pacific) to overtime, and tied the No.1 team in the country.  Our seniors have been great leaders in those games, and they deserve the success they’ve had.”

  It was the final game for five Viking seniors. Aside from Ferris, it was also the last collegiate contest for forward Tyler Bjork (Kirkland/Juanita), forward Kellan Brown (Tacoma/Bellarmine Prep), midfielder Sean Connor (Mount Vernon), and midfielder Oscar Jimenez (Mount Vernon).

Western Washington vs. Simon Fraser
Date: 11/03/11 Attendance: 217
Goals by Period          1    2  OT     Total
Simon Fraser            1    1      0---   2
Western Washington  0    2     0 ---   2
SCORING SUMMARY:
SFU - Bennett (penalty kick), 25:00
WWU - Hastings (unassisted), 58:39
SFU - Basso (Sanchez), 63:22
WWU - Ferris (Hastings), 84:26
Shots: Western Washington 16, Simon Fraser 24
Corner kicks: Western Washington 7, Simon Fraser 10
Fouls: Western Washington 25, Simon Fraser 15
Saves: Western Washington 3 (Rogers 3), Simon Fraser 6 (Steenhuis 6)

Congrats to all the Vikings named all-stars this year. Great seasons!

On the Mens Side: Senior Kellan Brown was picked for the first team for the third straight year.  Oscar Jimenez was picked for the second team (also his third year being picked to an all-star team). Honorable mentions were Aaron Becerril, Justin Moore and Keegan Rogers.

On the Womens side: Alicia Patten (third year), Jamie Arthurs, Justina MacDowell and Emily Warman were all named first team all-stars.  Emily Frankland was named to the second team.  Honorable mentions were Megan Chapin, Kim Cooper and Brina Sych.

The crowd was small (halloween, monday and at 2pm, its expected), it was cold and it was a non-conference game against a smaller school.  It was a chance for WWU to try and get some momentum for the big game Thursday against Simon Fraser.  But it wasn't meant to be.  Local boy Alex Couweleers ruined those chances in the final 11 minutes, scoring two goals and putting the game out of reach for the Vikings.  

The Eagles had the advantage in shots, 16-5, and that was definitely seen in the stands. They dominated possession and kept Western out of the game almost the entire time.  Even when they equalized in the 36th minute, the feeling was that Trinity Lutheran would win.

Western is now 5-11 and has lost 5 straight.

Western Washington vs. Trinity Lutheran
Date: 10/31/11 Attendance: 75
Goals by Period          1    2     Total
Trinity Lutheran         1    2  ---   3
Western Washington  1    0  ---   1
SCORING SUMMARY:
TLC - Torres (unassisted), 20:48
WWU - Bjork (Dangvan), 35:21
TLC - Couweleers (Torres), 79:20
TLC - Couweleers (Torres), 85:56
Shots: Western Washington 5, Trinity Lutheran 16
Corner kicks: Western Washington 6, Trinity Lutheran 7
Fouls: Western Washington 11, Trinity Lutheran 11
Saves: Western Washington 2 (Rogers 1, Cohen 1), Trinity Lutheran 1 (Vazquez 1)