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The boys of fall are back, and this time it’s personal. The men’s soccer team is coming off an unusual 2008 campaign that included suspensions, injuries, and finally an improbable run at a national title that ended with a silver medal, all before the resignation of their head coach, Al Alderson, this past off-season.

As turbulent as last year’s season was, this year’s version of ‘the boys in blue’ have plenty of reasons to be excited. The team will be hosting the CIS championships in November at Spartan Field, guaranteeing them a spot in the field of eight (not to mention their home fans running shirtless around the field, hoisting their spears in the hopes of victory). Their guaranteed appearance will set a CIS record, as the Spartans will appear in their fifth consecutive national championship tournament.

Most importantly, the one change from last year’s team that creates the greatest difference is the change in leadership. Pat Rohla has taken on the position of head coach and is left with a task of finishing what the Spartans have never won, a national championship.

Coming over as an assistant from the women’s soccer team, Rohla will try to take a championship caliber team to the next level, using a different train of thought.  “This year is all about redefining what Spartan soccer is,”
says Rohla.

Although Rohla knows that he has a chance to win a championship through the backdoor thanks to their automatic bid as hosts, he wants to earn their spot in the national tournament. “We will be competitive, pretty even with most teams.  Canada West is up for grabs,” notes Rohla, “There are some dark horses that could be very good, like Alberta and Saskatchewan.”

The roster for this year is tight. Rohla stated that competition in practice for the position of goalkeeper was very intense, saying, “We have three #1 keepers. Andrew Fink, Andrew Kowan, and Karl Martins are all all-stars.” Fink was suspended last season while Kowan led the team in goal all the way to the national championship game.

The Spartans strength lies in its back end this year, as in addition to the trio of goalkeepers, third-year Paul Hamilton will be back to lead the Spartans’ defensively. He will be joined by freshman defenders Rhys Volkenant, who joins his brother Brayden on the team, and Jordan Whitehead, both of whom have given substantial minutes the open the season. Third-year Jake Jorgensen is also back on defense.

Up front, the Spartans will be led by Oregon sensation Nathan Pogue, who is returning from having been suspended for all of last season. He will be joined by Daniel Lowen, who filled in for Pogue last year but will likely see a drop in minutes with Pogue being back in the lineup. Pogue and Lowen will be supported by second-years Liam Mcallister and Shawn Parkes, as well as fifth-year Nathan Square-Briggs and Chris Trauter at mid-field.

Rohla is quick to comment that injuries will dictate the way the season goes.  “When everyone is healthy, we have some hard managerial decisions,” he says.

While the season has already started, Rohla did add one interesting player that could make or break the season for the Spartans this year.  Garrett Traversy is considered this year’s breakout player in waiting. “He has the potential to be an attacking force every time he steps on the field,” Rohla says, describing him as a player who has all the right tools but just needs to put it together into one package—a package that could be the missing piece to rebound from unfortunate luck the past few seasons.

The Spartans have begun their season posting an 2-0-2 record in the conference and will be taking on UFV and Uvic on the road this weekend.