V-Reds look to move up in AUS standings

Men's soccer | With more offensive spark, UNB hopes to rise through ranks

UNB men's soccer coach Miles Pinsent believes three experienced recruits from Ontario will be the key to pushing the Varsity Reds beyond the middle of the pack and back to the top of the Atlantic University Sport Men's Soccer Conference standings this season.

"With these additions, we will be more composed and a lot more dangerous going on the attack," said Pinsent. "We were good on defense last year, but lacked the ability to score multiple goals in a game. But with these guys, they make us more dangerous."

To bring them back to Atlantic supremacy, he's enlisted the services of players he says will boost the Varsity Reds attack, which scored only 11 goals in 12 games last season.

First is defender Ebenezer Owusu-Afriyie, a 29-year-old from London, Ont., who comes to the team after a stint with the AUS rival Cape Breton University Capers, and will bring "composure and creativity" to the Reds backline, said Pinsent.

"Wing backs are important foundations as you try to build a team attack, and he will give us that confidence on the back line."

Also joining the team will be Sam Boateng, a striker who previously played for Saint Francis Xavier and CBU in the AUS.

Pinsent said the 24-year-old Hamilton, Ont. native will be called on to put the ball in the net.

"He's a dangerous striker," Pincent said of Boateng. "He's very fast, he's good one-on-one, and he's got a good level of creativity in his attacks."

He's also excited about the presence of Zachary Mollins-Bidlake, a striker from Barrie Ont., and said all three are "quality, experienced and proven players."

There are seven more new faces to the Reds roster this season, including local products, goalkeeper Adam Grant, and Fredericton midfield Victor Karosan.

Conversely, the team lost four players to graduation, and a handful of others from last year's team won't be back.

Pinsent said the team's record last year was nothing to scoff at, but said UNB should be a top contender year in year out.

"That's not who we want to be," said Pincent of his squads 6-5-2 record and fifth place regular season finish last year. "We were specific in our recruiting, and we're hoping to be a lot stronger this year. It's funny, because we finished middle of that, and that's lower than we traditionally finish. But it also should be remembered that we were in every game, every loss was a close one, by a single goal. It was just a lack of creating chances on goal that hurt us in the long run."

The Reds will get their first test this weekend when his team travels to St. John's, NL., to play a pair of regular season games against Memorial University Sea-Hawks.

He said with training camp now behind them, his squad is now ready to put their practice to the test.

"We're way ahead of where we were last year," he said. "The guys have been working hard, and with so many new players involved in new roles, it's still not perfect, we're still trying to figure out how to play as a team, but on Saturday we will see what we're all about.

The Reds bowed out in the quarter finals to Cape Breton University in the playoffs.

The team has its home opener next weekend, when it hosts defending AUS champion Saint Mary's Huskies at BMO Centre at 3:15 p.m.