Coming into last season, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks menโs soccer team was riding an incredible high.
They were defending Ontario University Athletics (OUA) champions. Provincial all-star Alex Doma was back along with a host of key returning players. And highly touted rookie goalkeeper Jarrett Humphreys appeared to be the perfect replacement for the departed Yousef El-Abbar.
But as the 2009 season began to unfold, everything came crashing down.
โLast year, everything that could go wrong went wrong,โ said head coach Mario Halapir. โWe werenโt a much worse team than we were the previous year when we won the provincial title, but we battled a lot of injuries.โ
The Hawks started the year 0-2-2 and quickly fell into last place in the OUA west, struggling to string wins together throughout the season. To make matters worse, player after player went down to injury and by the final game of the season, the Hawksโ lineup was missing almost all of if its original starters.
The end result was a three-win season, with the Hawks missing the playoffs for the first time in the teamโs history.
โIn the final game we did have eight or nine guys out, but at the end of the day, the bench has to be ready to step in,โ said Humphreys.
โObviously it was disappointing getting knocked out in the last game last year, but I think that can be something thatโll light a fire under us for this year.โ
The Hawks now turn their sights to this season, a year in which they will look to rebound and put their struggles behind them. Itโs a goal Halapir says is rather simple.
โItโs done,โ he said of last season.
โItโs easy to move on. The past is the past. Winning national championships, winning provincial championships, thatโs in the past too. You canโt dwell on it, itโs all about whatโs happening to today and thatโs what weโre focusing on.โ
The Hawks have gotten off to a good start this season, rolling through their pre-season schedule, outscoring their opponents 12-0 over three games.
โThereโs been a really exciting atmosphere in camp,โ said Humphreys.
โAll the new guys that have come in have really stepped up and put a lot of pressure on the returning players and the returning guys have come in with a lot of fire too and I think itโs translating into a lot of good performances on the field and a newfound depth that we didnโt have last year.โ
That depth appears to be the biggest improvement for this Hawksโ squad, and considering the injuries that ravaged the team last season, itโs something they clearly needed.
โWe have a lot of talent coming off the bench and thatโs a definite improvement this year,โ said Humphreys. โWeโve seen it through the pre-season where weโve had guys who arenโt our usual starters on the field and the level of play is the same.โ
Despite all the optimism surrounding this season the Hawks got some bad news over the summer as Doma โ who was an OUA all-star once again in 2009 โ tore his ACL and will miss the entire season.
โYou canโt replace a player like that,โ said Halapir.
โHis heart and his leadership are going to be missed for sure. But itโs one of those situations where the team must go on and survive.โ
Both of WLUโs soccer teams kicked off their seasons yesterday afternoon vs. the Waterloo Warriors, for stories on those games visit thecord.ca.