VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds' 2011 season was right on track for the first 15 games and 89 minutes. They led the conference in scoring, had just one loss to their name, and were playing for Canada West gold against Alberta. But a last-minute goal by the Bears provided a stunning ending to UBC's season, with the upset giving unranked Alberta the only available Canada West berth to nationals.
The 'Birds, who had spent most of the season ranked No. 2 in Canada and even occupied the top spot at one point, were left out of the CIS Final Eight, with the Victoria Vikes taking the other Canada West berth as CIS tournament hosts.
"The way we measure success in our program is winning big games and championships, so although we only lost two games last year, we lost the big game so we fell short of what we had hoped to accomplish," said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher. "So it's a mindset of having some unfinished business for this group."
With plenty of offensive talent returning, the T-Birds should be a dangerous scoring team once again, but they will have to take care of that business without the services of some key defenders.
Two-time All-Canadian
Jason Gill and Canada West All-Star
Matt Allard have both graduated from the fullback ranks, as well as All-Star midfielder
Tyson Keam.
"Those three losses are all big. All three were All-Stars and two on the backline, but we've adjusted," said Mosher. "Steve Johnston has been here a while in his fourth year now, and he's played a lot in the past year so he's prepared to take that central fullback spot. We've also worked at converting
Devin Gunenc, who's also been a Canada West All-Star, to playing right back."
Fourth-year
Will Hyde, yet another UBC defender with All-Star credentials, will be back in his left fullback spot, so the 'Birds should have plenty of experience on the back line despite their losses.
Mosher also has two talented defensive recruits in
Tyler Mertens and
Bryan Fong, who appear ready to make big contributions right from the start of their CIS careers.
"Both are very versatile and can play other spots," Mosher said of his freshmen defenders. "Both are ready to play at this level. Physically, they are athletic specimens, and ready to go right now."
Jacob Quail also joins the defensive ranks as a freshman for the 'Birds this year.
Between the pipes,
Luke O'Shea and
Richard Meister split time almost evenly last year, and will likely combine to get the job done again in 2012. O'Shea got the lion's share of the playing time in the second half of last year with Meister out injured, but now that he's healthy again the competition for the starting goalkeeper job is heating up.
The middle of the park will be anchored by All-Canadian
Navid Mashinchi and fifth-year seniors
Brandon Bonifacio and
Marco Visintin.
Mashinchi led the team with five assists and added five goals last year. Visintin started out hot with four goals in his first two games but cooled off after missing some time with an injury. Bonifacio led all non-fullbacks in minutes played for UBC in 2011.
Second-year
Kent O'Connor and fourth-year transfer
Reynold Stewart have both impressed with their preseason performances and should factor into the mix at midfield as well.
Sean Einarsson,
Kerman Kooner and
Andre Herath are the new recruits at midfield, all in their first year of eligibility.
Up front, the 'Birds have two more first-team All-Stars in Gagandeep Dosanjh and
Sean Haley to shoulder the scoring load. Haley led the team with seven goals last year, but it was a bit of a down year for Dosanjh, who burst onto the scene as a rookie with nine goals, but was held to just two last year.
But Mosher is confident that his talented young striker, who just wrapped up a strong summer campaign as captain of the Whitecaps PDL team, can bounce back in a big way this year.
"Gags really worked hard last year and things just didnt go his way," Mosher said. "He got some chances and did score in the Canada West semifinial, but it was just one of those years, and not for lack of hard work. That has made him really hungry to have a good season, and I fully expect him to. He's just itching to get the season going."
The 'Birds have certainly had no trouble scoring in the preseason, with 14 goals in just five games. But perhaps more importantly, the new-look defence is faring well so far too, conceding just a single goal during that stretch. Only time will tell if the 'Birds can continue that success when conference play begins this weekend, but Mosher is pleased with how his squad is coming together to begin the 2012 campaign.
"We're happy with how we've done so far. Part of preseason is getting ready for the opener, but you also want to come out of it having evaluated all your guys and see where everyone's at. We've gotten a good look at 20-plus players and have a comfortable feel of where things are at."
The T-Birds open conference play as the 10th-ranked team in the CIS. They take on Calgary and Lethbridge to kick off the regular season at home this Friday and Saturday. Both games are slated to start at 7 p.m. on David Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium.
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