Guitouni opened his last season playing for the Vikes with an impressive game-winning hat trick at Thunderfest
Photo by govikesgo.com.
Sept. 5 was Thunderfest — for many, the biggest Vikes game of the year. The crowd was electric, the stands overflowing with students, and the score at halftime 2–0 for the Vikes against the UNBC Timberwolves.
With all competitive sports, there is typically some back and forth, mixed with pressure that your team might lose. But not this time. With Vikes forward Yassin Guitouni up front, that fear in the stands was gone. After his first of three goals, the win felt inevitable. He was a snowball of force, building off the excitement and energy of the crowd after each goal.
Guitouni has had a fruitful career as a Vike, with ups and downs both on and off the field, but he hopes to finish the season the way he started it on Friday — with a bang!
Guitouni’s soccer career, unlike most players, didn’t start on the pitch, but on the ice. He played hockey until age 13. However, he spent the better parts of his summers in Tunisia with his family, where soccer is widely popular, and eventually succumbed to its appeal.
This was Guitouni’s last Thunderfest, but it was also an immensely eventful one. By all accounts, he had a great game, walking away with a hat trick (three goals in one game) and securing the victory for the Vikes.
With such a big crowd in the stands, many players find it intimidating to step out onto the pitch, but Guitouni says it pushes him.
“Every time I play Thunderfest, all the nerves go away and it’s more happiness. [It’s] really exciting to play in front of the students and have all that energy behind us,” Guitouni said.
“In the case of this last Thunderfest, [there] was kind of a snowball effect. When one thing goes right, you get a lot of energy back from the crowd and you get a lot of confidence, and everything starts to go right.”
While Guitouni is used to cheers from the fans, he’s also familiar with hecklers from the other side. Like the pressure from fans, it can either shake a player, or it can push them to perform.
“I have played in games where there have been big fan turnouts on the opposing team … [and] they would be heckling you and calling you names,” Guitouni said. “But honestly, I quite like that side of it too. It just motivates you to play better and shut them up.”
“Obviously, if you make a mistake, they’ll let you hear it, but as long as you don’t get in your head, it’s more of a positive than a negative.”
Guitouni hopes to keep the momentum going. Coming off of what he would consider an off-season, he hopes to come back and finish stronger than ever.
“Last year was a down year for me, compared to the year before. I struggled with my confidence coming off of illness, and I never really found my footing,” he said.
“Our team is really good this year, so I feel like we have a really good shot to go to nationals. That’s the most important thing, so hopefully I can keep the goals flowing and keep playing confidently for the rest of the year.”
You could see on his face and hear in his voice how much love and pride he has for his teammates. “We are a really really close team. The core group of us have been together for the past three years now, and we navigated the learning process together,” Guitouni said. “And part of me loving [soccer] so much is being around them all the time.”
“I think it goes in waves. Sometimes you love it a little less, but right now I am definitely loving it a lot.”
The Vikes Men’s Soccer team’s next challenge comes from the UBCO Heat, who they will be playing against on Friday, Sept. 26 at 7:15 p.m. on their home turf, Centennial Stadium. Tickets can be acquired online.
