LETHBRIDGE – Following nearly a month of preparations, the Lethbridge Pronghorn men's soccer team hits the pitch this weekend to open the 2019 Canada West season, hosting the Alberta Golden Bears and MacEwan Griffins at the University Community Stadium.
 
The Pronghorns will take on the Golden Bears Friday night in one of four Canada West season opening games. Kick-off is slated for 5:30pm. Sunday afternoon the Pronghorns will wrap up the opening weekend taking on the Griffins at 2:15 pm. Both games will be streamed live on www.canadawest.tv, presented by CO-OP.
 
For a full Canada West season preview: https://canada-west.prezly.com/msoc-thunderbirds-top-preseason-poll
 
 Heading into the new season, the Pronghorns will look to rebound after a tough 2018 season that saw the team miss the post-season for the second consecutive year. The team returns 14 players from last year's line-up but will be a relatively young team with 10 returners in their third year of eligibility or less.
 
Seniors Marcus Menzies, Kyle Angerilli and Matt Vandervoort will be looked to lead this year's group of Pronghorns. Angerilli and Ellis Davies are the lone returns that registered goals last season. Davies tied for the team lead with graduated Stephen Primeau.
 
With 12 new faces added to the roster, plenty of newcomers will see playing time this season, but Damon Field, Kyle Szymanski, Landen Veluw and Ro Oishi are key additions to the Pronghorns this season.
 
The 2018 Prairie Division leading Alberta Golden Bears will enter the new season with redemption on their mind. After going through the regular season undefeated (12-0-2), the Bears were upset at home in the Canada West quarter-final by the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.
 
The Bears return 12 players from last season, but will have two big holes to fill with the departure of Easton Ongaro and Ajeej Sarkaria. Ongaro lead the conference with 16 goals in 14 games and Sarkaria finished third in Canada West with 10 goals.
 
Like the Pronghorns, the MacEwan Griffins missed the playoffs in 2018 with a 3-9-2 record. The Griffins return 20 players from last season team, including leading scorer Everett Orgnero, who scored eight times in 14 games.
 
Up Next: The Pronghorns head out on the road next weekend, traveling to Calgary to take on the Calgary Dinos and Mount Royal Cougars.