It’s a time to reflect for fifth-year UNBC women’s soccer player Julia Babicz.
The Prince George product and College Heights Secondary grad will be playing her final two home games at Masich Place Stadium this weekend as UNBC takes on the nation’s top-ranked team the Trinity Western Spartans (7-0-1, Friday 6pm) and the Fraser Valley Cascades (2-2-4, Sunday at Noon).
Babicz is one of three players departing from the program after the season, joining Ashley Volk and Jenna Wild who will also be hungry to secure a pair of victories for the 3-2-3 Timberwolves who sit fourth in the Pacific Division.
The top six teams qualify for the playoffs.
Babicz told MyPGNow.com it probably won’t sink in until after the final whistle is blown.
“I’m not sure if it will hit me right away with all of the adrenaline going but after the game, once I get back into the change room with my teammates there will be lots of hugs exchanged and hopefully not too many tears, just tears of happiness.”
The 22-year-old is looking forward to the opportunity of stepping onto the pitch two more times in front of the hometown crowd.
“It honestly means everything. I didn’t start out playing at Masich but I feel like it’s our home now and I’m just so excited to get going on it this weekend and be playing in front of the home crowd with all my friends and family watching.”
Babicz, like many of the Timberwolves players past and present, endured some lean years before the arrival of Head Coach Neil Sedgwick who overhauled the women’s program as they’ve made the playoffs the last two seasons.
Not only has the team improved on the field, but the talent pool in which they draw has also become a lot wider as well.
“The program was built basically around all women in Prince George at the start and so I had grown up with all of them. I started practicing with UNBC when I was in grade nine and now looking at us we are a very diverse group.”
“We’ve got kids from Victoria and even San Francisco now so the program has grown up a lot in five years.”
As for Babicz’s favourite moment at UNBC, you only have to go back to last season in order to find it.
“The most soccer-related one is probably winning our first playoff game (2-1 victory over Manitoba), we grinded through that game as a team and we did it for ourselves and we did it for our school, our community.”
“I think that game will forever have a special place in my heart.”
Once this weekend’s games are complete, Babicz will be up to 64 career games as a Timberwolf putting her third all-time below former teammates Tianna Pius (65) and Madison Emmond (67).
If Babicz plays in UNBC’s final six games, she will surpass Emmond’s games played mark by a single match.