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> Ten are set to join Golden Bears Soccer
Ten are set to join Golden Bears soccer
Matt Gutsch
(June 9, 2009) Len Vickery and the Golden Bears soccer program are excited to announce the commitment of ten recruits for the 2009 season.
Vickery, entering his 25th season as Head Coach of the program, guided the club to a 5-3-6 record in 2008-09 and their eighth straight Canada West appearance, where they finished fourth and out of contention for the CIS championship. The winning season bumps Vickery’s all-time record to 149-58-50 in conference play, and the Bears have won two national titles (2003 and 2006) under Len, something the long-time coach hopes the new recruits will help lay the foundation for.
Among the recruits are two players with University or college experience, as well as eight high school graduates, including three Edmonton-area prospects.
Alvaro Campos and Milan Timotijevic come the University of Alberta as transfer students from the University of Saskatchewan and Mount Royal College respectively.
Campos spent four seasons (2004-07) with the Saskatchewan Huskies, becoming a regular starter for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. The former Guatemala youth international player will likely step into the void left in the midfield by the graduations of John Konye and Danny Nielsen.
While Campos will be looked upon to provide a strong controlling and defensive midfield presence, Timotijevic will be called upon to help spark the Golden Bears offence. He spent the past two seasons with the Mount Royal Cougars in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, leading the team in goals during the 2008 season with six, which put him fourth in the ACAC, and earned him All-Conference honours. The attacking midfield player has an established chemistry with Bears’ All-Canadian striker Brett Colvin, as the two have spent the past two seasons also playing with the Calgary Callies during the summer, twice winning the Canadian Soccer Association’s National Senior Men’s Championship.
Although the Bears finished second in goal scoring last season, Vickery has also brought in Jonah Feil to help with the Alberta attack. The Victoria, BC native and recent high school graduate brings size and pace to the midfield line-up after a championship season with Victoria United FC of the Pacific Coast Soccer League (PCSL). In six games as a rookie, Feil notched two goals and helped his B.C. club to a league championship. He currently trains with the Victoria Highlanders of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) Premier Development League.
From the Edmonton area Vickery has brought in Igi Broda (midfield), and defenders Scott Gilroy and Osmo Bimba. All three played for the Green and Gold senior men’s team in the Alberta Major Soccer League, who were provincial champions this past winter, while Bimba also spent time in the Vancouver Whitecaps residency program.
Coming north up the QEII are four players; Sean Colvin (midfield), striker Glynndon Dobson, Andrew Hood (midfield) and Dean Northover (midfield/defence). Each played for the successful Elbow Valley Villains at the youth level, while Dobson has also trained at the Canadian Soccer Association’s National Training Centre.
All of the Alberta players are considered strong prospects for the Alberta U-18 squad that will compete at the Canada Summer Games in Prince Edward Island later this summer.
“This recruiting class brings experience at the University level, as well as, a strong group of youth players, that will help lay the foundation of success for the Golden Bears soccer program for 2009 and beyond,” says Vickery of new prospects. “The goal, as always, is to compete well in Canada West play, and then make the playoffs, and earn a shot at the national championship. The athletes added to the Golden Bears soccer program for this year, will help make that goal realized.”
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