Royals to defend PACWEST title this Sunday in hopes of winning a back-to-back championship

The previous PACWEST champions Douglas College Royals will get the chance to defend their gold medal this Sunday as they will once again battle for the conference title. The Royals finished their regular season by extending their undefeated streak to 6 games after a crucial 2-1 victory against the Mariners and a 0-0 scoreless tie against the Falcons last weekend.

With the Mariners loss to the Blues last Sunday, the Royals were able to clinch the top in the conference with 16 points and received a bye straight into the gold medal match taking place this Sunday October 31^st at 3pm. They will face the winner of the Mariners-Falcons semi-final match occurring on Saturday afternoon.

To head coach Robby Toor, this past season for the Royals has been full of perseverance and fight. Douglas started the season off with 3 consecutive losses, being the last-place team in the conference at an early point. However, since obtaining their first 3-point game of the season in a dominant 5-1 win over the Falcons over a month ago on September 26^th, the Royals have not fallen to an opponent since.

"I think the team has really come together at the right time. We went through some struggles early in the year[…] but I think there was a real true belief in the locker room amongst the players and staff that we're not an 0-3 team. We knew we could be the best team in this league."

And best, the Royals have been. Douglas finished the regular season leading the conference with the highest number of goals scored at 20 and boasts the lowest goals against record amongst all PACWEST teams with 12. They stand second overall in the final CCAA rankings.

Young talent has also made a huge impact on the pitch this year for the Royals. On Wednesday morning, rookies Ryosuke Sudo and Mohamednur Ibrahim were announced as PACWEST Conference All-Stars. Both first-years have already achieved the honour of being CCAA players of the week respectively this season.

Seasoned veterans such as Captain Burhan Waisy and third-year forward Yianni Siafakas were also named Conference All-Stars. Siafakas finished second amongst all PACWEST leading scorers this season with 5 goals in 8 games. 

In addition, head coach Robby Toor was officially named the PACWEST Coach of the Year. It would be the first of his long and impactful career.

Heading into this Sunday, the Royals look to put their best foot forward in order to raise the PACWEST banner once again.

"We also know the job's not done yet," Toor remarks. "We still feel that we could be better. Going into the championships this weekend, we know we need to do our best to beat whoever we play in the finals. For us I think the biggest preparation is focusing on what we've done well and limiting any mistakes and errors as we head into the weekend, and just keep playing the way we've been playing the last 2 weeks."

Once again, the Douglas Royals will get the chance to play for a back-to-back championship in the PACWEST Championship game on Halloween this Sunday at 3pm in Coquitlam Towncentre.