Six years of soccer with the UNBC Timberwolves have gone by like the blink of an eye to Michael Henman.
Now at age 25, heading into the final home game of his U SPORTS soccer career, Henman knows his expiry date as a university athlete is fast approaching.
Sunday afternoon (2:15 p.m. start) the T-wolves will play the Fraser Valley Cascades at Masich Place Stadium. Henman will join his teammates in a Seniors Day post-game ceremony to highlight their career accomplishments wearing the green and gold.
And there will be much to say about what Henman has done to advance the T-wolves’ program.
A year ago the Victoria native shredded the UNBC record book, leading the T-wolves to their best-ever season. Henman scored 19 goals in just 16 games and the T-wolves responded with an 8-5-3 record that left them just a few percentage points shy of hosting a playoff game for the first time since they joined the Canada West Conference in 2012.
The veteran striker has a much different role in his final season of eligibility (extended one year due to the 2020 season COVID cancellation) and now he’s the greybeard big brother on a rookie-laden UNBC team that ranks as one of the youngest in Canada.
Henman owns a share of the record for most goals in a Canada West season and he’s still scoring, with five of the T-wolves’ entire 11-goal output in 12 games, but not at the frenetic pace that turned heads across the country a year ago. He no longer has a supporting cast that made the T-wolves a formidable contender but has climbed into the top-10 all-time in conference scoring.
“It’s not easy coming in starting six or seven rookies (each game) in this league, it’s a lot different than last year,” said Henman. “Every team loses players throughout the seasons and we’re lucky enough to have such a good group, Steve’s brought in some really good-quality players, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t have that experience.
“I’m just trying to enjoy myself out there, I don’t feel I need to prove myself at this stage but I’ll fight for these guys to the end, I love this group. These young guys have so much potential.”
Henman had a goal and two assists as the T-wolves (3-7-2) beat Fraser Valley Cascades 3-1 Friday to move into fifth place in the Pacific. They still have a shot at a top-four placing needed to advance to playoffs, but they do not control their own destiny. UNBC has to win beat Fraser Valley (2-11-0) again Sunday and sweep their final two next weekend at UBC-Okanagan. That’s contingent on the defending national champions Thompson Rivers University (6-7-0, fourth place) and UBC-O (3-9-0, sixth place) both losing their games this weekend at UBC and Victoria.
Henman, a psychology major, went public earlier in his UNBC career about his struggles with anxiety as a young teen, when his mental anguish made it hard for him just to get out of bed and his father used to have to wait in the car outside his school wondering if he would see him suddenly burst through the doors trying to flee his classmates.
UNBC coach Steve Simonson, Henman’s coach since he was 10, convinced him to come to Prince George to join the T-wolves after high school and he’s never looked back.
“UNBC has been all I’ve known for a while here,” said Henman. “I didn’t really have a lot going for me before I came here and as soon as I got here the opportunity just blew up. I don’t regret getting anxiety either, I wouldn’t be in this position I’m in right now if I didn’t go through that. I’m just happy and proud to be here.”
Henman’s star qualities late in his career at UNBC and with the Victoria Highlanders boosted his soccer resume. That could result in him playing in the Canadian Premier League and he says he will pursue his pro soccer opportunities abroad.
“Enough people noticed him last year and he had a good summer with the Highlanders as well,” said Simonson. “There’s been a couple discussion with (CPL) teams that are keen on giving him an opportunity, so that’s first and foremost. It’s a world game and there’s so many opportunities outside Canada for him.
“What I like about him more than anything is he’s stayed humble with what he’s doing here and what this place means to him, I think he’s showing that every day.”
The UNBC women (0-12-1) will be back on the field at Masich today at noon in their season-ending game against Thompson Rivers. (4-7-2). The T-wolves lost 3-1 Friday to UBC-Okanagan.
