Royals Ready For 2022
The following post is courtesy of the Pacwest on September 1, 2022 https://www.pacwestbc.ca/sports/wsoc/2022-23/releases/20220901-DC-WSC-Preview.
The Douglas Royals women’s team is hungry to get back on the pitch after falling in last year’s PACWEST gold medal game.
Head coach Chris Laxton is back entering his eighth season as head coach of the Royals Women’s Soccer team and is getting his team ready for the push when the season opens on September 10th. His club has already had some wonderful team building activities including a trip to Whistler and to Portland. The Royals haven’t won PACWEST gold since 2017 and their last national medal was a bronze in 2016. This season the Royals have their eyes set on a trip to Quebec in early November to compete for a national title.
2021 in Review: The Royals finished the regular season with an impressive 7-1-1 record and tied with the Capilano Blues atop the Conference standings. Due to the head-to-head match ups the Royals officially finished second in the Conference which meant they had to face the VIU Mariners in a semi-final which they barely won 2-1 propelling themselves to the gold medal match. The title game against the top ranked Blues didn’t go the way the Royals were hoping, and they fell 2-1 in double overtime and were awarded the PACWEST silver.
One Player to Know: Fifth year senior Martina Pettenon had an All-Star type season last year and is the only fifth year player on the Royals roster. She scored a pair of goals last year as a forward and will be looked upon this season for even more production.
One Key Stat: Keeper Elisha Machado returns this season after being named the PACWEST championship Top Goalkeeper in 2021. She will no doubt be the backbone of the Royals here in 2022.
One Key Fact: The Royals only have one fifth year player on the roster and will have two players joining their team who played in Alberta’s ACAC last season.
The Royals open the PACWEST campaign with a home and home with the Langara Falcons beginning on Saturday September 10th. The first game will be played at Swangard Stadium before Sunday’s home opener at Cunnings Field.
Sources: https://www.pacwestbc.ca/sports/wsoc/2022-23/releases/20220901-DC-WSC-Preview
https://douglascollegeroyals.ca/sports/wsoc/coaches/Chris_Laxton?view=bio