Cramming and studying in the exhibition season is now complete for the UNBC Timberwolves.
This week, the men's soccer side is preparing for its first real test of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Canada West regular season when it hosts UBC Okanagan in a two-game homestand Saturday and Sunday.
Having already climbed a steep learning curve, the T-wolves are about to embark on another one when results really do count.
They wrapped up the exhibition season on the weekend with a 4-2 win Saturday and a 1-1 draw Sunday on their home pitch at the North Cariboo Senior Soccer League fields against the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack.
Brandon Wallace gave UNBC a 1-0 lead in the 64th minute of Sunday's match, but the WolfPack scored the equalizer 14 minutes later. Neither side could capitalize on their chances for the remainder of the game and settled for the tie.
On Saturday, Tofa Fakunle and Cheona Edzerza tallied goals for UNBC in the first half, while Conrad Rowlands and Wallace tacked on two more to secure the win.
"We're still a young team and we played well," said UNBC head coach Alan Alderson after Sunday's game. "TRU played well and they were sharper today. We're still really young, but we're incredibly explosive."
The T-wolves began cramming for the regular season when they opened their main camp two weeks ago, followed by a week-long road swing through Edmonton and Calgary for five exhibition matches.
In Edmonton, they beat the MacEwan University Griffins 2-1 but suffered losses against FC Edmonton and NAIT 1-0.
In Calgary, they were edged 3-2 by the University of Calgary Dinos but rebounded for a 2-1 victory against Mount Royal University Cougars.
"That's the best U of C team I've seen in a long time and they had five fifth-year starters returning so scoring goals was tough," said Alderson. "Those were all road games for us so getting those kinds of results was very good.
"It was a great road trip against some good opponents and very competent teams. We learned a lot and we all learned a great amount of experience."
But the UNBC side didn't return home unscathed.
Eight players in the lineup are banged up and temporarily on the disabled list.
They include striker Fakunle, with numerous bumps and bruises, and sophomore newcomer Dan Goodey with a sore ankle
"That's OK because we're young and we played a lot of games in a short period of time," Alderson said. "We cross our fingers and hope they'll be ready by the weekend."
Kick-off is 2:15 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday at the NCSSL fields.
Alderson would like to see a big crowd watch the squad, three days after classes get underway.
"This is a team worth watching - they're fun to watch," he said. "They're bright and creative and a capable team we're putting out on the field."
UNBC's women's soccer team wrapped up its pre-season on the weekend in Kamloops, suffering a pair of shutout losses, 2-0 on Sunday and 3-0 Saturday to the WolfPack.
The Timberwolves host UBC Okanagan to kick off their regular season this Saturday and Sunday. Both matches are at noon.
