Skip to content

UFV Cascades men’s soccer hosting Abbotsford home opener on Friday

Cascades welcome TRU WolfPack to Rotary Stadium to open Canada West play
30222851_web1_220901-ABB-ufvmensoccer-1_1
The UFV men’s soccer team, shown here competing at last year’s Canada West final four, aim to have another deep playoff run this season. (File photo)

The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades men’s soccer team opens the 2022 Canada West regular season on Friday (Sept. 2) against the red-hot Thompson Rivers University WolfPack.

TRU opened the season in Kamloops on Aug. 26 with a big 2-0 win over preseason favourite the UBC Thunderbirds. They followed that victory up with a 3-0 win over Victoria on Aug. 27 at home.

The Cascades were ranked ninth in the 13-team CW conference in the preseason coaches poll. The club is hoping to build on a strong second half to the regular season last year that saw the team advance to the final four round.

The men completed a slate of exhibition games on Friday (Aug. 26) playing to a 2-2 draw against Oregon’s Williamette Bearcats. They also posted a 3-0 win over Oregon’s Pacific University on Aug. 24. The team earlier lost 3-1 to Western Washington University on Aug. 13.

Some of the top returning players for 2022 include 2021 team goal scoring leader Taylor Richardson (forward), midfielder Trevor Zanatta and goalkeeper Jackson Cowx. Zanatta was UFV’s male athlete of the year for 2021-22 and set a CW single-game record with four assists in a game against UBC last October.

RELATED: Record-setting win for UFV Cascades soccer

Returning Abbotsford players consist of: Parman Minhas (midfielder), Ajai Boparai (forward) and Gurjivan Ark (midfielder).

New additions for 2022 include: Nicolas Burret (defender), Ivan Mejia Yepes (forward) and Jayden Bassra (midfielder).

The home opener kicks off against TRU on Friday at 7 p.m. at Rotary Stadium. The Cascades then host the UBC-O Heat on Sunday (Sept. 4) at 1 p.m. The club then hits the road for the next two weeks before returning to Abbotsford on Sept. 23 to host the Alberta Golden Bears.

For more, visit gocascades.com.



Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
Read more