Defending Champions Royals ready for PACWEST restart

Twenty-three months since they claimed the PACWEST Conference trophy and banner, the Douglas Royals Men's Soccer team will finally begin their title defence with a doubleheader this weekend. They open the season visiting the Langara Falcons on Saturday at 3:30 pm and welcome the Capilano Blues for their home opener at Cunnings Field on Sunday at 2:30 pm.

Despite not getting the chance to step out on the pitch last season due to COVID-19, the Royals' goal and vision as a team remains unchanged: defend their PACWEST Conference Title and compete for a National championship.

With the addition of Nawaf Binsaleh, Nisha Samra and Farivar Torabi to the Royals coaching staff, the team looks strong in every aspect as they possess a mixture of experience, high-level skill, and young talent.

Many returning players and notable recruits look to bring a positive contribution for the Royals to help the squad succeed again this season.

Rookies to Watch:

First-year forwards Matteo Falcone and Ryosuke Sudo join the Royals as prominent international recruits coming from Italy and Japan, respectively. They will be looked upon to make significant impact by creating scoring chances for the Royals offence.

Key returning players:

Captain and centerback Burhan Waisy will play a huge role anchoring the defensive side of things on the Royals backline, having been a significant part of the team as a starter since 2018. Waisy was one of two Royals who received a PACWEST All-Star Nomination in the 2019 playoffs.

Quinn Desaulniers brings four seasons of experience onto the team as a strong midfielder and looks to be a key leader both on the pitch and in the Royals locker room. 

Third year forward Yianni Siafakas will be a huge contributor to the Royals offense as a striker, having led the team in scoring throughout the 2019-20 season with 4 goals in 11 games.

Head Coach Robby Toor is confident in his team and eager to get the season started this weekend to begin defending their PACWEST title.

"It's been a long time coming for the team as a group. We finished in 2019 as the PACWEST Conference Champions and 2020 was supposed to be a big year for us as we had a number of players coming back to contend. Obviously with the COVID shutdown and uncertainty, a lot of things changed. We still have our core group from 2019 intact and we've added some good, young talent. The guys have been meshing well together and I think the group's really excited just to be back on the field playing to defend our title and hopefully making Nationals again to contend for a National title."

Catch the Royals in action this weekend at Langara on Saturday September 18^th at 3:30 pm and at their home opener against Capilano at 2:30 pm Sunday the 19^th on Cunnings Field.