Clockwise from top: Tessa Tasaka slides in to challenge a Capilano University Blues player; Carly Dhanda controls the ball in the midfield during the semi-final

,_ LANGARA

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game against Capilano University Blue; Giulia Repole steps up for a penalty kick in a 0-0 draw. sugmiTTED PHOTOS

Falcons wings get clipped

Langara 0-2
at provincials

By NICK VALKA

he Langara College’s

womens soccer team

couldn't find the back of

the net at the PacWest
Championship tournament, where
they recorded a fourth place finish.
‘Ihe bronze-medal game, which
saw the Falcons come up against
the VIU Mariners, was a defensive
battle. The two teams played to a
0-0 draw, forcing the outcome to

be decided by a shootout. Unfor-
tunately, the Falcons couldn’ find
their scoring touch from the pen-
alty dot.

‘The Falcons met the Capilano
University Blues in the semi-finals,
where they ultimately lost by a sin-
gle goal.

The hard-fought game was
settled in the late in the first half
during a scramble just outside their
box.

Though the final outcome wasn't
what the team had hoped for, the
players were happy with their over-
all performance.

Sydney Bell, a third-year goal-
keeper and current team captain,
earned All-Star honours for her

stellar play this season and spoke
highly about the team.

“We had an amazing season,”
Bell said. “Our team worked hard
until the very last minute of every
game and we are so proud of that.”

Third-year midfielder Alessia
Mastromonaco said the Falcons
proved to teams that they had the
skills and drive to succeed.

“All of these girls are talented in
their own ways and they applied it
during practices and games,” Mas-
tromonaco said.

Tessa Tasaka, a fourth-year mid-
fielder is optimistic and looking
forward to next season.

“I know the team next year will
be even better than this year be-

cause we now know what we need
to work on to win,” Tasaka said.

Now that the season is over Ra-
chael Pelat, head coach of the team
said despite their fourth place fin-
ish to the season there are positive
takeaways.

“We were a young group this year,
including myself as a head coach,”
said Pelat who began coaching the
team last season. “I think we all
gained a lot of experience and re-
ally started coming together by the
end of the season and have built a
strong foundation to move forward

”
on.

‘The women's team played a 12
game this season and finished the

2017-18 with a record of 4-3-5.

Falcons hatch a

ie:

—

practice. ALLISON HAYES PHOTO

Soleil Wilding #5 receives a pass from her teammate during a pre season

new game plan

Mens team plans
to dominate
while women
create chemistry

By ALLISON HAYES
his season, Langara’s men’s
basketball team wants to
return to reclaim their

PacWest title while the women’s
team continues to brew team
chemistry among its players.

The men’s team is off to a mid-
dling start for its 2017-18 season
with three wins and three losses in
exhibition games. Last year, they
finished second in their PacWest
division with a 14-4 record.

Head coach Paul Eberhardt,
said the seniority of many play-
ers gives the team an upper hand.

“The past five years it’s basically
been us and Vancouver Island Uni-
versity,” Eberhardt said. “We won
the PacWest twice, they won it
three times.

“It definitely helps when you

have guys that have played in the
eague a couple of years.”

While the men continue their ri-
valry with VIU, the women’s team
is working on creating chemistry
between new and veteran players
before the start of the season.

Last season, they finished sec-
ond-last with a record of 6-12.

Women’s head coach, Winston
Brown said the team will have to
deal with new players this season.

“Getting the new players up to
speed, finding our new identities,
anytime you bring in five new ath-
letes in an environment the chem-
istry changes things,” Brown said.
“It becomes a new entity, really fig-
uring out who we are now, that will
also help some more games to go
with it.”

Former captain Haylee Robert-
son, who originally wasnt going to
play this year, has decided to return
for a final season.

“This year we have more of a bal-
ance of returning players and are
experienced in the league and have
a lot more years under their belt,”
Robertson said. “I want to get bet-
ter and help the team. With that

comes working hard.”

A Long
career
rewarded

L angara j-school grad
Wendy Long given out-
standing alumni award

By JENNIFER WILSON

ith only a handful of
women sports reporters
in the industry, Wendy

Long entered sports writing in the
1980s to challenge the way female
athletes and writers were repre-
sented.

Long received an Outstanding
Alumni Award from Langara Col-
lege on Wednes-
day for her pio- |7

neering role as
the first female |
sports _ reporter

for the Vancouver
Sun, and one of
the first in Can-

ada. Wendy Long
During — her = LANGARA COLLEGE

time as a reporter, UMN aaRD

she has seen re- RECIPIENT

spect for women
in journalism and
sports grow.

In the the 80s, Long said she saw
how women in sports were covered
and wanted to make a change.

“The coverage that was there
was pretty condescending, so there
needed to be a new approach and
a different voice and I was one of
those voices,” Long said.

After graduating from Langara
journalism, Long got a job at she
Sun, Long said she could tell male
colleagues wanted to get rid of her.

“Anytime anybody told me I
couldnt do something I worked
that much harder just to prove
them wrong.”

Long also noticed that if men
made an error it was brushed off;
if she made an error it was high-
lighted.

This double standard motivated
rather than deterred Long who de-
veloped a reputation through hard
work and exceptional proficiency.

Long said her competitive atti-
tude was another asset on the job.

At one event, Long was pushed
out of a prime interview spot, and
into a snowbank by a photographer.
She stood up, threatened him with
a snowball and retook her position.

Carly Barrett, Communications
Officer at Langara, said Long's
career has helped woman sports
reporters.

"Wendy’s accomplishments re-
ally speak for themselves, she was
a trailblazer for sports reporting,
breaking down barriers for future
female sports reporters."

After a career in sports writing,
Long now travels and writes fiction.

&

Langara at Langara at
Douglas College | Douglas College
Nov. 10 @ 8 Nov. 10 @ 6
Langara at Langara vs
Capilano Capilano

Nov. 11 @7 Nov.11@5
Columbia Columbia

Bible College at | Bible College at
Langara Langara

Nov. 16 @ 8 Nov. 16 @ 6