What can we learn from Pacific FC’s 2023 season? 

Through the first half of the 2023 season, Pacific FC were flying. They lost just once in their first 13 matches of 2024, and quickly rose to the top of the CPL table.

But inconsistency struck over the summer months of the campaign, and Pacific won just two matches between the end of June and the start of September. They slipped into second, and then third, and on the final day of the season ended up in a disappointing fourth place.

That set them up for an incredibly difficult 2023 playoff campaign, where they actually fared quite well. Pacific beat York United 1-0 at home in the play-in round, before travelling to Halifax just a few days later and beating the Wanderers by that same score. Their season was eventually ended 2-1 by Cavalry FC in the semifinals.

Who are three key players for Pacific FC in 2024?

FW – Ayman Sellouf

Coming off of a CPL debut season that saw Sellouf involved in 15 of Pacific’s goals, the standards have been set high for the Dutchman’s second season. With seven goals, Sellouf led his team, while his eight assists were tied for the most league-wide with Kyle Bekker. As impressive as those numbers are alone, it’s important to point out they were achieved at just 21 years old.

DF – Thomas Meilleur-Giguère

With Amer Didić’s off-season departure, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère is now the main piece in a backline that needs someone to take charge. All fault cannot be placed on Meilleur-Giguère for last season’s woes, but Pacific allowing 20 goals in their final 14 matches last season is a figure that will need to be improved if he and his side have any title hopes.

FW – Reon Moore

While not a name many Pacific fans will be familiar with, the Tridents have a hole in their attack that needs filling and Reon Moore appears to be their fix. With the likes of Easton Ongaro and Djenairo Daniels gone, the Trinidad and Tobago international seems the likeliest to make an impact, having scored eight goals in 25 appearances for his national side.

What does Pacific FC’s 2024 schedule look like? 

Five of Pacific’s first six CPL games this season will come at home, an early chance to fix their Starlight Stadium woes of last season.

Following that start, Pacific will have to embark on two travel-filled road trips, one in June that sees them go to Halifax, then Winnipeg, then back east to York before going home. Then, in July, they had back out east to Ottawa, further east to Halifax four days later, and a brief return to Ontario to play Forge just three days after before returning home. That second road trip will mark games 13-15 of Pacific’s season, giving a good idea of how they’ll look entering the final stretch.

How did Pacific FC approach the off-season?

“We wanted to bring in some more experience to the squad and maybe some bigger character and personalities,” said James Merriman. “That’s what we’ve really tried to focus on this off-season, as opposed to most off-seasons here at Pacific where we have really focused on signing young players. We want to balance the squad a little bit this season with character, with personality and experience.”

Without any quotes from James Merriman, it would be difficult to point out exactly what Pacific’s approach to this off-season was. Losing the likes of Amer Didic, Manny Aparicio, and Easton Ongaro created some big holes in any Pacific plans. The Tridents only have four defenders on their roster as things stand after Didic’s departure, and have looked to Trinidad and Tobago international Reon Moore to fill in the holes in their attack. But with no inter-league signings aside from goalkeeper Sean Melvin, it’s hard to tell how their new signings will transition.

What are three key storylines heading into the season? 

Where will Pacific’s goals come from? 

Goalscoring has long been part of Pacific’s identity, representing the most goals scored by any team over the last three CPL regular seasons combined. Despite all that, there are questions to be asked about how this trend will continue heading into the 2024 season.

Pacific did a good job last season of scoring from all areas of the pitch with eight players scoring four or more goals, a league-high in that niche category. An impressive feat, that kind of scoring can’t always be relied on. The year before for example, Pacific only had two players in that same category.

As mentioned earlier, Reon Moore is expected to fill the striker role, but being their top scorer is a tall ask for the Trinidad international in his first CPL season.

Can Pacific achieve some much-needed consistency? 

Ahead of matchweek 15 last season, if someone told you that Pacific were their pick to win the CPL regular season title, it’d be a hard point to argue. The club were sailing in first place with two games in hand at one point. With any consistency, the title was theirs for the taking. But that consistency never came.

Pacific went on to only collect 15 of a possible 42 points in the second half of the season, falling rapidly out of the title race and into fourth place where they finished. Where it all went wrong is a behind-the-scenes matter, but the potential was there for Pacific to win another trophy which can absolutely be seen as a positive heading into 2024.

Gazdov, Melvin, or both?

We’ve talked about their hole in the attack, which makes it even more important to look into their situation at the back.

Last season, Emil Gazdov shared the net with Kieran Baskett, Gazdov playing 21 matches, Baskett taking the remaining 10. With the latter moved on from the club, the Tridents brought in a much more experienced second option in 29-year-old Sean Melvin.

At just 20 years old, Gazdov can surely represent the future for Pacific, but whether or not he will be their number one this season seems much more in the air with the addition of Melvin. The former Atlético Ottawa keeper does only have 10 CPL matches under his belt, but was behind former goalkeeper of the year nominee Nate Ingham.

Pacific could definitely run a goalkeeper tandem this season, but it will be interesting to see who separates themselves as the favoured number one.

What are the keys to success for Pacific FC in 2024?

Inconsistency killed the Tridents last year as the season’s halfway mark produced an obstacle they were unable to overcome. Picking up 25 points in the first half of the season, the Vancouver Island side were flying, but collecting only 15 points in the remaining 14 matches meant a disastrous fall from the title picture for them. If Pacific was able to play every game they could’ve provided a real fight for the eventual regular season champions, Cavalry FC.

Sticking to the idea of consistency, after an off-season that saw their attack welcome new faces and see familiar faces leave, Pacific will need to find early success with their new look. The second-highest scoring team in last year’s regular season, goalscoring is a crucial part of Pacific’s identity as mentioned earlier. Pacific have five confirmed forwards on their roster as things stand: Reon Moore, Dario Zanatta, Josh Heard, Ayman Sellouf, and Adonijah Reid. In what commonly ran as a three-man attack last season, it will seemingly be up to those five to find consistency and carry Pacific’s heavy goalscoring identity onwards.