“You get to a point in the game where we score, we have taken the lead, we are dominating possession,” said Porter. “And then it was like we just dropped. And the game just changed. And then they get the goals, and the winner came so late, there was no chance for us to come back.”

FC Edmonton has scored just 18 goals this season. And two players who have scored nine of those markers could not make the team’s road trip to North Carolina for this weekend’s big six-pointer against the Carolina RailHawks.

FC Edmonton is waiting on the Scottish Football Association to finish filing some paperwork to the Canadian Soccer Association to make the transfer official.

“I wasn’t sure if anyone was watching me (at the CIS final),” said Gigolaj. “I had an OK season the year before, too. And there was no news. So I wondered it was going to be the same. But this year, the biggest thing was having it (the CIS final) in the West. Soccer is much bigger in the West than it is in the East. There were more fans and coaches there.”

“To work with Harry and Hans is a great opportunity for a Canadian college coach like myself, but it is also very intimidating,” Paulus admitted. “Harry and Hans have so much experience, and they have coached at the highest level. But, at the same time, it’s a smooth transition to make. I watched this team a lot last year and I am familiar with the style.”

And St. Mary’s forward Elvir Gigolaj, who was one of the stars of the 2011 CIS Men’s Soccer Championship held in Victoria, wowed in his trial with FC Edmonton and is likely to stick with the team. Gigolaj helped St. Mary’s get all the way to the CIS final. He scored in the championship game, but the Huskies fell to the hosts. Gigolaj scored two extra-time goals in the semifinal win over the University of Alberta.