Freezers Lose Season Opener

FC Whitehorse lost their season opener 4-1 to Vandelay FC at Service Stadium. The Freezers looked frustrated all match as Vandelay had control of the match from the very beginning, and never relinquished it. A lone goal in the 89th minute by Bainbridge Mediate making his debut for the team was all that prevented the clean sheet.

Manager Raley Treffle said that his team would need to get to work to try to make things better in the games to come. "We were admittedly a little sloppy today" said Treffle. "These things can happen for sure. There are a lot of new pieces here and it will take some time for everyone to get comfortable. Hopefully, we can find that comfort quickly. There aren't a lot of easy games in this league."

The Freezers next travel to FC Hamilton before heading to Calgary to play Black Gold FC a week later.

FC Whitehorse Freezers: Season 103 Preview

After three full seasons in the CPL, the FC Whitehorse Freezers have the look of an established team in the league. However, this season comes with a few big changes that will test the club's ability to remain a mid-table side. With the departure of their first captain Johan Nix, the team steps into the year with a young and untested midfield, and a leadership hole that someone else will need to fill.

There is another big change coming to the front office as well. Club President Jaheem Byam has announced that this will be his final season in charge of the club. The 71 year old Byam will retire at the end of the year, giving the job to current Director of Player Personnel Gerard Dumontet. In a recent interview, Byam said that the time was right to make a change in his life. "After spending most of my life in the game of football, I think the time has come for me to step away" said Byam. "I will be working with Gerard throughout the season to help ready him for the role, but he is a capable football mind with some good new ideas, and I know that the club will be in safe hands with him at the helm. We have an excellent support staff, and are trending upwards on the field as well. Hopefully, we can continue that positive momentum this year."

Manager Raley Treffle in a recent post-training press availability talked about the challenges of maintaining position in the CPL. "This league is like a downward escalator" said Treffle. "If you're standing still, you're going backwards, not forwards. Also, it's a lot more work to move up than it is to fall back down. With that said, we do feel like we have a young capable team with room to grow and develop into the contenders we want to be down the line. It's just going to come down to how quickly we can come together and start succeeding this season."

The Freezers will be returning to their reliable 4-3-3 formation, with these players starting the year as their starters:

In net, Zako Schmit returns for his age 19 season with veteran goalkeeper Rubinho serving as his primary backup. The defensive group of De Melisco, Sabido, Nunez, and Letour all return to the starting lineup, with Daniel Fuertes and Gabiro Rezusta serving as the top substitutes. The midfield has seen the most changes as Nacho Valdez becomes the new primary centre midfielder and Bainbridge Mediate coming in to play on the left side. Virgilio Rivas completes the youthful trio with Ponce Palou serving in a depth role for some veteran presence. Angel Piña and Timothy Brett are back to play the striker and right wing positions respectively, with Virgilio Rentaria moving forward from the midfield to play as the left winger. Josemisco moves from a starting role to a backup role this season joining Marthaldo as the depth players up front.

The final change for the Freezers coming into this season was the role of captain on their team. With Johan Nix departing, there were a number of candidates that could serve the role, but it was American forward Timothy Brett who Treffle selected to be the club's second ever captain. In his introductory press conference as the man wearing the arm band this season, Brett talked about his surprise in getting picked as the captain, and how seriously he takes that role. "I will say it took me fully by surprise" said Brett. "I expected guys who have been here longer like Leo [Nunez] or Lakeith [Sabido] would be picked, but I am honoured to have coach's support as well as the team's. I know that these are big shoes to fill, especially for a team that wants to keep pushing to get better. All I can do is give it what I have and hope that it's enough to lead this great group of guys."

Whitehorse opens their season at home facing Vandelay FC before heading on the road to play FC Hamilton a week later.

Freezers Add Several New Players

Ahead of their 4th season in the CPL, FC Whitehorse Freezers added a number of new players to their roster. Those players are:

• Nacho Valdez - M - MEX - 18 y/o
• Ponce Palou - M - MEX - 30 y/o
• Bainbridge Mediate - M - USA - 22 y/o
• Eleazar Roque - M - MEX - 24 y/o

One of the top U18 players in the world last year, Mexican midfielder Nacho Valdez will begin his professional career in Whitehorse after signing a 5 year contract with the club. Though he is still only 18 years old, Valdez has shown a good knowledge for the game along with great ball control and shooting skills. He is expected to fill in the centre midfield role previously held by the departing former team captain Johan Nix.

The capable veteran midfielder Ponce Palou returns to the CPL after several seasons playing in the American top tier. The 30 year old Mexican signed a 3 year deal with the Freezers having spent his last 5 years at FC Swindonton in America. Palou has 98 career goals in 307 league matches, including 33 goals in 132 CPL matches playing for Presbyterian Express to start his professional career.

22 year old American midfielder Bainbridge Mediate comes to Whitehorse after 4 seasons with Martians of Science in the Hungarian League. The Freezers signed Mediate to a 5 year contract to add some depth to their midfield core. He had 21 goals in 144 league matches for his previous club.

The lone incoming transfer to Whitehorse this offseason, Mexican midfielder Eleazar Roque was purchased from Hungarian League side Lokomotiv Buda. Roque had 8 goals in 23 matches for the Engineers last season, and at only 24 years old, is expected to be a contributor to his new club for years to come. He signed a 4 year deal as a part of his transfer, with a transfer fee of $75,000 paid to his former team.

With few other changes expected before the season starts, look forward to the team preview for the Freezers coming here soon.

Johan Nix Sold

It was a sad day among the Freezers' faithful today as midfielder Johan Nix was sold to fellow CSL club the Manitoba Moos for a $550,000 transfer fee. The 34 year old Nix has served as the team captain for FC Whitehorse for its first 3 seasons in the top flight. In that time, he scored 22 goals in 85 league matches while serving as the team's primary free kick specialist.

At the press conference announcing the decision, manager Raley Treffle spoke highly about his former captain. "Johan was a pro's pro" said Treffle. "He always worked incredibly hard in training, was a positive influence in the locker room, and really showed his talents on the pitch. We are certainly going to miss him here, and wish him the best for the Moos. It was a really difficult decision to move on, but we wanted to get younger in the middle, and felt we could grow a young group there together like we did in the back. That is the plan this year."

As for Nix himself, the newest member of the Manitoba Moos posted a note on Twitter thanking the team and the fans for his time in Whitehorse. "This city has been a wonderful home for me the past 3 years" Nix's post read. "Joining a team that is just starting out in this league was a new challenge for me. The coaching staff and my teammates made it into a fun challenge that I looked forward to being a part of every single day. And a huge thank you to our fans. Your support through these past 3 seasons was always immense, and my memories of playing at the Ice Box are so very positive. I was honoured to be your captain."

Nix will join former Freezers John Bryan and Fitz Patrick Scott in Western Manitoba.

FC Whitehorse Freezers: Season 102 Review

As the third season of FC Whitehorse in the Canada Soccer League comes to an end, the Freezers find themselves in unfamiliar ground. After two seasons of struggling, the team has elevated themselves to a firmly mid-table finish on the back of some strong veteran performances and an experienced manager in charge. The Freezers finished 15-7-16, which put them in 11th place in the league standings.

President Jaheem Byam was pleased with his club's performance this season, and stated in a recent interview that this was a nice stepping stone towards the future. "The goal with all of the Wellington clubs is to eventually reach championship glory" said Byam. "Obviously, our path is going to be a long process. But the first step into relevancy is consistency, and I feel like this was a season where we proved that we can be competitive with most of the clubs in the league. Now, we just need to make sure that we continue to make progress year over year."

During the season, Whitehorse finished with 69 goals (10th place in the league) and allowed 76 (12th). Their 527 shots (7th) and 269 shots on goal (9th) showed that there was a lot more potential for finishing scoring opportunities over the course of the season. Discipline remained strong, as the Freezers only conceded 24 yellow cards (3rd) and 2 red cards (T2nd).

In his post-match press conference after a 5-0 loss in the final match of the season against Black Gold FC, manager Raley Treffle spoke in his usual manner while summarizing his team's season as a whole. "This was a real double cheeseburger of a season" said Treffle to a bemused press corps. "We were the cheese smack dab in the middle with a lot of meat on either side of us. And obviously, we want to work our way to the top. But this league is incredibly difficult. Those top teams are going to be tough to break into. Our goal is just to keep growing and building every season and see if we can't start to push some of them soon."

For the first time in team history, FC Whitehorse had a player in the top 25 of league scoring. With 18 goals, Timothy Brett led his team and finished in T14th in the league. Among the other top scorers on the team, Angel Piña had 14, Josemisco had 8, Johan Nix had 6, and Dylon Lemaitre added 5 in only 22 matches. Newcomer Zako Schmit managed 5 clean sheets with Zavala getting 1. The club's bookings were dominated by 2 players with Leonard Nunez getting 10 yellow cards and Piña having 8 and both of the club's red cards.

Captain Johan Nix spoke after the team's final match and praised the resolve of the players this year. "We were really competitive with almost every team" said Nix. "We went out every week and felt like we could battle with them. We had wins over some top clubs this year, and we really rounded into form by the end of the season. I don't know what will happen going forward, but I have a lot of positive memories from this year. I hope that we can keep moving towards our goals."

Rumours are circling that the Freezers are ready to make some big moves in the offseason, so time will tell what this squad will look like when the new season kicks off in a few months' time.

Bencsik Sold During Winter Transfer Window

20 year old striker Rókus Bencsik was one of the first players added during the free agency period in advance of FC Whitehorse's inaugural year in the Canadian Soccer League. And after a disappointing start to his third season with the Freezers, Bencsik has been sold to Sao Miguel Football Club in his native Hungary for a $34,000 transfer fee. 

Bencsik spent the better part of three seasons playing in Whitehorse, where he scored 16 goals in 75 league matches. After difficulty finding the net again last year, Bencsik fell out of favour with manager Raley Treffle, and was used in more of a reserve role this season. In his second match back in Hungary, Bencsik found his form scoring a hat trick as a part of SMFC's 7-0 drubbing of Orangeville Eagles FC.

To help with depth for the remainder of the season, FC Whitehorse added 32 year old Canadian midfielder Dennis Winchcombe for a contract that will see him until the end of the season. In 37 matches last year for Ontario Soccer Club, Winchcombe scored 4 goals and was given 13 yellow cards.

FC Whitehorse Freezers: Season 102 Midseason Review

If the goal coming into this season for FC Whitehorse was a mid-table finish, the team is very much on the road to getting there so far. Through 19 matches, the Freezers sit in 11th place with an 8-2-9 record. They also have a middling goal differential, sitting at a -5. While their Canada Cup performance was better than it had been in years past, a 2-1-5 record was only good enough for 4th place in their group, falling short of a spot in the knockout round.

Club President Jaheem Byam referred to his team's start to the season as "satisfactory", hoping they would continue to grow as the season has gone on. "It has been a fine start to this season" said Byam in a recent interview. "We are improving our record, and with that, our attendance. Our finances are strong, and we are really starting to feel well-established in this league. I give credit to everyone here, players, coaching staff, training staff, and the administration, for moving us to this place."

The Freezers have scored 36 goals (8th in the league) while conceding 41 (13th), putting them near the middle of the field in both categories. The club has remained solidly disciplined as well, only receiving 13 yellow cards (3rd) and a single red card (T4th).

Manager Raley Treffle has been given a lot of praise for helping the team progress into their current position, but continues to take all of this in stride. "I often say that the manager taking credit for a team's success is like a customer taking credit for a well-cooked steak: sure I may have asked for what I wanted, but someone else did a lot more work to make that happen." said Treffle, getting a small laugh from the press room. "When people talk about 'mid-table', there's a lot of ambiguity there. To me, it means that you feel like you can be competitive with anyone, even if you're not coming away with the result as much as you would like to. In that way, I think the guys are really achieving that. They young players have really come into their own, and we are getting some excellent contributions from our vets too. If we can keep this momentum going, we could really make a name for ourselves in the second half of the year."

The individual performances have been stronger than in years past as well. Angel Piña leads the team with 9 goals with Timothy Brett just behind with 6 despite missing a few matches due to a knee injury. Josemisco has 5 goals to his name, with midfielders Johan Nix and Dylon Lemaitre with 3 each. For bookings, Piña is also the largest contributor with 5 yellow cards and the team's only red card to his name. In goal, the young Zako Schmit has made a name for himself collecting 4 clean sheets in 15 starts including a pair of 7 save performances.

Commenting on his team's play after a recent draw against Shanghai Sharks FC, captain Johan Nix praised his teammates, as he is often one to do. "This really does feel like the football we were capable of playing" said Nix. "Obviously, the additions of Angel and Timmy up front have made a world of difference. But overall, it just feels like we have really found a rhythm all over the pitch. It's fun to watch and fun to be a part of as well."

Finally, after having a verbal dispute at the beginning of the season with his old team, former Freezer midfielder Serginho suffered a serious injury in a league match for his Hungarian team Lokomotiv Buda. That injury, as it turns out, will be enough to end his career at just 32 years of age. One of the more vocal people on the Whitehorse side of that dispute, defender Patrick Letour, was recently asked about how he feels about his comments with the news of Serginho's retirment, and his tone was noticeably different. "I am not going to stand here and say that these words or those words were wholly in the wrong" said Letour. "Whatever I said was said, and I was genuinely upset about it. But stuff like this really puts a lot of these kinds of disputes into perspective. The guy was a really talented player, and it sucks that he won't be able to show that anymore. All that other stuff just kind of falls to the wayside."

Next on the league schedule, Whitehorse travels to Forrest, Manitoba to face off against their rivals the Manitoba Moos.