SS ports EDITOR MICHAEL LETENDRE THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2018 8 ‘Caps kick off with win Vancouver Whitecaps have unveiled a new look, add- ing new players and new jerseys to start the season By PUNEET DHAMI off the 2013 MLS season with a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC. The club, sporting new players and a new kit, had the sell-out crowd of 21,000 standing and cheering. Prior to the game, Vancouver South- siders president Brett Graham vowed his group would be out to celebrate the start of the new season. Since 1999, the Southsiders have taken pride in being the ’Caps most hardcore fans and currently have over 1,200 members. Graham said he believes the new players are going to be key to the Whitecaps winning the MLS 2013 sea- son. “They will do better than last year because they’ve picked up speedy new players,” said Graham. Whitecaps play-by-play announcer Peter Schaad has high hopes for the season. He believes the players are faster and more team-oriented, making the club a bigger threat. “The manager is really happy with who they’ve brought in, and it’s a year with a very good team,” said Schaad. Some of the new players include Ni- gel Reo-Coker, a defensive midfielder from England; Corey Hertzog, a forward from the United States; and net- minder Simon Thomas, from Vic- toria. “They got rid of Barry Robson, more speed and the young players benefit the team,” said Langa- ra student Bren- dan Goncalves. Last season the Whitecaps became the first Canadian club in history to make the MLS playoffs, losing in the first round to the L.A. Galaxy. T: Vancouver Whitecaps kicked BRENDAN GONCALVES Happy with the will new-look ’Caps Ll i jill mnrrvvrvve ‘i acinc WESTER | AC < ONFERENCE “HAMPIONS BA SktTBAL i] - *e00te AAAI T | 7 li lo thé Pe —~ Team ass © = a . ~ y ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION 4 M Ss > * ENS | j Aurea 20 12-291 v DLA AA LARA A a & “ul A a et AY THORSTEN GOHL photo The Langara men’s basketball team celebrate their PacWest tournament victory on Saturday, Mar. 02. The team had set a PacWest record for wins in a season with 20, and only had a single loss. The Falcons will play next in Montreal for the national championship. Falcons provincial champs Langara Falcons beat their rivals, the Vancouver Island University Mariners, in a close game to take home the gold medal Highlights By KELCI NICODEMUS 1 Record setting 20-1 season PacWest champion- ship Player of the Year for Brody Greig 4 Coach of the year for Paul Eberhardt 3 PacWest League All-Stars Ihe Langara Falcons went for gold in the PacWest provincial cham- pionship and came out on top. The men’s basketball team won the PacWest B.C. championship last weekend, allowing the Falcons to move on to the national championship, March 14 to 16. This is the 17th provincial champion- ship win for Langara, and the first since 1999. Coach Paul Eberhardt said he had high hopes for his team before the play- offs, and expected to win. Because of their first-place regular season finish, the Falcons were able to automatically advance past the quar- ter-finals of the playoffs. “That’s a nice advantage,” Eberhardt said. The team played the semi-finals against the Douglas College Royals and won 103-71. In the gold medal game, Eberhardt was proven right with the Falcons win- ning 78-74 against the Vancouver Is- land University Mariners, their tough- est rivals. “They’ve won it the last few years and we were able to beat them in three close games,” said Eberhardt. The game against VIU was, once again, a very close game. VIU in the led for a good chunk of the game, and finished the first half up 41- 37. When the game resumed, Langara caught up to VIU and ended up being tied 59-59 by the end of the third quar- ter. The Falcons were able to ensure their win with seconds left on the clock when guard Elliott Mason, number 14, scored a three-pointer, extending the Falcons’ lead to six points. Eberhardt said that the reason the boys are having such success this sea- son is because there is no set superstar on the team. “T think the guys showed a lot of faith in each other and a lot of faith in the system that we run,” said Eberhardt. The team’s only loss this season was to the Columbia Bible College Bearcats, who didn’t make the playoffs. a THORSTEN GOHL photo Falcons guard Brody Greig, PacWest Player of the Year. Langara men set PacWest win record Falcons basketball team finish year with most wins ever in a single season By GARIN FAHLMAN team has won the PacWest provin- cial playoffs after their 2012-13 sea- son came to a close with a historic 20-1 record, the best ever seen in the Pac- West league. The Falcons won an unprecedented amount of games this year under the direction of new coach Paul Eberhardt, who was awarded PacWest Coach of the Year. Players Brody Greig and Jesse Jef- fers were chosen to represent Langara on the All-Star team, with Greig also being awarded PacWest Men’s Player of the Year. Coach Eberhardt came to Langara in 2012 after 10 years of experience coach- Te: Langara Falcons basketball ing teams like the Capilano University Blues, whom he led to the provincial championship in 2003. Eberhardt introduced a tough prac- tice regimen that got the Falcons in shape to win on the court. “We started the year with a really tough training camp where we just worked their asses off and made them realize how hard we have to work, and it was a good start, because we killed them. For two weeks we just killed them,” Eberhardt said. The training camp paid off, as the Falcons went into the Christmas break undefeated. “We beat teams early and did really well against them, and that gave us a lot of confidence,” said Eber- hardt. “Right from the beginning we start- ed really strong and were able to mop up most of the competition and sort of build from there.” Greig said he was impressed with Eberhardt’s experience and knowledge of the sport. “I’d heard a lot about him, but when he came in I just saw how much he knew about basketball and the way to coach, and the system he put in worked well for our players.” Beating the Vancouver Island Uni- versity Mariners, the Falcon’s toughest competition, was Greig’s warmest memory of the season. During the playoffs, Greig and the Falcons faced off against VIU once again, beating them for the champion- ship. Coach Eberhardt said he wouldn’t change his strategy going into the play- offs, and gave his long beard a stroke. “I haven’t touched this beard since the season started,” he said grinning. “I can’t touch it till we win.” When asked if the award for Coach of the Year was expected, Eberhardt didn’t hesitate. “Sure,” he said. Then he laughed. “That doesn’t sound right. But I mean we went twenty wins and one loss, that’s the best record ever in the league.”