VICTORIA B.C. - Several players from the University of Victoria Vikes men's soccer team will be donning Highlanders FC Premier Development League (PDL) jerseys this summer. The home openers are this weekend May 12, against the Sounders FC U-23 at 7 p.m., and May 13 against Whitecaps FC U-23 at 5 p.m. Both games will occur Victoria's Royal Athletic Park.
HIGHLANDERS FC /
PDL LEAGUE SCHEDULE
Returning to the Highlanders are goalkeeper
Elliot Mitrou (Victoria, BC) and midfielder
Craig Gorman (Victoria, BC), both 2011 Canada West first team All-Stars. Also named to the squad this year are midfielders
David Adams (Surrey, BC) and
Craig Taylor (Victoria, BC); forward
Thomas Mallette (Trail, BC); and defenders
Andrew Ravenhill (Victoria, BC),
Connor Boag (Victoria, BC) and
Bobby Eng (Richmond, BC).
"We are excited to have a big UVic presence on our squad," said
Ian Bridge, head coach of the Highlanders PDL team. "We have a few returning players like our goalkeeper
Elliot Mitrou and
Craig Gorman in the midfield. We are bringing in Tommy (Mallette), who was very exciting in our pre-season matches and we also have
Andrew Ravenhill, who offers good attack out of the backfield."
Bridge has been the head coach of the Highlanders' first team for the past two years. Outside of the Highlanders season, Bridge was a dedicated member of the Vikes team providing the webcast colour commentary for all the Vikes men's and women's soccer games.
The Vikes playing for the Highlanders will see a familiar face in
Cam Hundal (Surrey, BC) when they hit the pitch against the Whitecaps U-23 team this Sunday. Hundal was a standout star for the Vikes during the 2011 season and was subsequently named Canada West rookie of the year and CIS Nationals Tournament MVP.
Last year, the Highlanders made it to the playoffs for the first time in club history and finished second in the Northwest Division behind the eventual national champions, the Kitsap Pumas. From the training squad a line-up will be announced prior to each match.
Players:
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Connor Boag# D
Ashley Burbeary F
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Bobby Eng# D/M
Stephen Ewashko M
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Craig Gorman# F
Josh Heard F/M
Jordie Hughes F/M
Tyler Hughes D
Gareth Langdon M
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Elliot Mitrou# GK
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Andrew Ravenhill# D/M
Brock Reid GK
Jared Stephens F
Sasa Plavsic F
Rab Bruce-Lockhart GK
Kalem Scott D
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Craig Taylor# M
Adam Ravenhill M
Liam Davis D
Sourosh Amani M
Paddy Nelson F
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Thomas Mallette# M/F
Matt Mehrassa D
James Merriman M
Kevan Brown D
Sam Prette F
Kurt Macaulay F
Ryan Ashlee D
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David Adams# M
Staff:
Ian Bridge – Coach
Neil Sedgwick – Asst. Coach
Steve Simonson – Asst. Coach
Bob Stankov – GK Coach
Matt Arnett – Therapist
Tom Somner – Manager
