The season for the Freezers thus far has been a tale of two halves. Through 9 matches, the team had yet to get a point in the league table, leaving them in dead last. Manager Oros Bala had been replaced after 6 matches, leading to Corwyn Westlake taking over the position on an interim basis. Since those first 9 matches, Whitehorse are 4-2-4 including a 1-0 road victory against 4th place CSL side Presbyterian Express. In the Canada Cup, Whitehorse was more respectable than last year with a record of 1-2-5, and only finishing -13 on goal difference.
Club President Jaheem Byam summed up the season rather succinctly in a recent interview. "It has been a chaotic year" said Byam. "The expectations coming into the season were pretty high, and we simply have not met them. And fan support is understandably waning, so we need to ensure that the on the field product is worthy of this city and the team's supporters."
The Freezers have struggled on both sides of the ball, as they currently have 21 goals for (T16th best in the CSL) against 51 goals allowed (17th). While they are generating a decent number of opportunities with 224 shots (T12th), the 108 shots on target (14th) show that those opportunities are wasted far too often. The team only has 12 yellow cards (5th) and a single red (T5th), so discipline is not an issue.
Interim Manager Corwyn Westlake tried to remain positive about his team's progress. "Things have been slowly moving in the right direction" said Westlake after a 1-1 home draw against FC Saskatchewan. "It has been a difficult season, but I do feel like we're finally getting things back on track. The results have been coming in recently, and it's a sign that we are improving at a decent rate. Hopefully with hard work, that will carry forward."
On an individual level, Josemisco is leading the team's scoring with 5 goals, while Serginho and Johan Nix each have 3. Rókus Bencsik, Virgilio Rentería, and Kaidan Lemoine each have a pair of goals. Both goalkeepers have had their struggles, though Rubinho has shown top level keeping on a more consistent basis than Zavala. Leonard Nunez leads the team in bookings with 4 yellow cards and 1 red. Tauro Serrato, despite only playing in 6 matches, has 3 yellow cards.
For team captain Johan Nix, this disappointing run of play has left him struggling to know what to do. "I am at a loss some days" said Nix. "You see it in training, the skills and the form is there pretty consistently. But then, match time comes, and we lose focus too often. It's tough to find the way forward, but we just need to keep trying and seeing what works."
The Freezers will host bottom feeder Bayfield FC in their next match, with hopes of getting some points to start the second half of their season.