Huskies Sam Mylymok and Spencer Veikle race for the ball in a game against the UBC Thunderbirds.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s soccer team opened training camp in mid-August with 13 new faces on the team.

“We’re dealing with a different team dynamic this year because we have a pretty young group,” Huskies head coach Bryce Chapman said on Aug. 29, just over a week before the start of the men’s season.

A young group indeed. Of the 26 players on the roster, 10 are rookies out of high school. Chapman, now entering his eighth year as head coach of the squad, is excited about what the newcomers will bring to the team.

“They came into camp really fit and energetic. As young players we have to bring them along slowly but they will definitely be playing as key pieces to the puzzle this season.”

“I feel confident and we’re just going to continue to sharpen things up in the last week before the season,” said Chapman.

First-year players Mitchell Bauche and Carson Macdonald are both local recruits out of high school and will be expected to make an impact as rookies. The two should become very well-acquainted both on and off the field, with both entering their first year of engineering.

With so many rookies this season, some of the second- and third-year players will also be asked to step into more of a leadership role with the club.

Striker Brett Levis enters his sophomore season with a little added pressure after last season’s top forwards Jerson Barandica-Hamilton and Josh Northey completed their CIS eligibility.

Levis, who scored four goals in his rookie campaign to gain Canada West second team all-star mentions, looks forward to his new role this season.

“I enjoy playing under pressure. It’s probably my number one thing,” he said.

“I tend to pick up on what is needed, and I will do as much as I can individually and as a team to get the outcome we want.”

On the back end the team has a few more experienced players. Starting goalkeeper Mark Diakiw will return for his final year of eligibility, along with defensive veteran Nick Clarke.

Clarke will be 31 years old at the start of this season and will be one of the oldest soccer players in the CIS. Hailing from Tamworth, England, Clarke is in his final year of PhD studies in sports science at the U of S, and the Dogs hope that his knowledge and years as a Huskie athlete will help lead the less experienced players on the team.

The team took a pre-season road trip to British Columbia Aug. 24-26 to see how they would fair against the University of British Columbia and Thompson Rivers University.

In their first match the Huskies fell 2-0 to UBC, who enter the season tied for tenth in the CIS top 10 poll. Despite the loss the Dogs played six first-year athletes in the contest, allowing the youngsters to build up valuable game experience.

In their second non-conference tilt that experience paid off as the Dogs defeated the Thompson Rivers WolfPack 2-1. Rookie Mathew Gillott scored a goal, as did Levis.

Like the women’s league, the men are also adding the new teams from the University of Northern British Columbia, Mount Royal University and the University of Winnipeg into the league.

The new clubs bring the Canada West men’s soccer total to 11 teams, six of which will make the playoffs. However, the conference will be split into two divisions with the five Prairie Division teams playing 15 regular season matches and the Pacific Division teams only getting 14 games.

The two divisions will not see much of each other in regular season action, but the Huskies will get a chance to see what the Winnipeg team looks like in their season opener Sept. 7 on the road against the Wesmen.

The Dogs return to Saskatoon two days later for the back half of the home-and-home series with Winnipeg.

“I’m pleased with our guys. This has probably been our best off-season from January to training camp in terms of fitness,” Chapman said. “I feel confident and we’re just going to continue to sharpen things up in the last week before the season.”

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Photo: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf