On Sept. 20, Portage College parted ways with long-time Voyageurs’ soccer and futsal coaches Kika Mukuninwa and Glenda Bouvier. The bench leaders are being thanked for their service by senior college officials.
“We thank Coach Mukuninwa and Assistant Coach Bouvier for their commitment to the soccer program, their contributions in the community and helping with the start-up of the program. We wish Kika and Glenda all the best in moving forward,” noted Portage College’s Vice President of Student and College Services Bev Moghrabi in a public statement last week.
In the 2019-2020 Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference soccer standings, the Voyageurs men’s team lost 11 of their 12 games, tying the other one. In the 2021-22 season, the team won one game and lost five in a COVID-shortened schedule. So far this year the team has won two games out of the six played. On the women’s side, the Portage soccer teams have registered only one win in the last three seasons of play. The results on the futsal courts over the last few seasons was better, with the men’s team heading to the ACAC championships in the 2021-22 season.
In letting go of the coaching team, the statement explained that “it was time for the team to go in a different direction.”
College officials say there is an interim plan in place to roll through the current season of outdoor soccer and the approaching futsal season. College staff Al Bertschi, Al Robertson, and Mohamed Al-Hattab have been selected to share coaching duties until permanent coaches are found.
"Within the next couple of weeks, the athletics department will commence the process of recruiting new coaching staff for the 2024-2025 season,” noted the statement from Moghrabi.
Bertschi explained that going forward, the interim coaching staff intends to work on different systems for both teams.
“Because we did not have the privilege of working with the ladies’ team during pre-season, we need to evaluate each player to find their natural position and talents,” Bertschi told Lakeland This Week, adding that once the abilities of each player have been figured out, emphasis will be placed on improving skills such as positioning and set plays.
New moves
Making improvements has been made complicated by the number of female athletes who have sustained injuries during the season.
“We have a very short bench, so we are asking players to play in positions that they may not be comfortable or familiar with,” he said, adding that several players are now expected to play the full 90 minutes on the pitch. “The men’s team is very competitive, and Coach Mo will get the most out of them…he already has the team’s respect and confidence.”
The Voyageurs experienced another win-less weekend on Sept. 23-24, with the women dropping a 10-0 decision against the Concordia University Thunder in Edmonton and then defeated 3-0 on home turf the next day against the visiting Lakeland College Rustlers.
While the men also lost to Concordia, they managed to get onto the scoreboard in the 4-1 contest. The goals continued for them on Sunday in a 3-2 loss against the Rustlers. The Voyageurs’ goal-scorers in that match were Yves Mwenedata and Dominic Douglas.
Final half of season
Going into the last half of the ACAC season, Bertschi said the teams are showing signs of improvement ... in places other than the scoreboard.
“Despite losing, the athletes play more like a team, and it’s going to take a complete group effort to start winning in this very competitive league,” he said.
While the men managed to avoid any major injuries during last weekend’s games, the Voyageurs women’s roster continues to deal with absences due to injuries.
“Unfortunately, the ladies' team may be down another player on an already short bench,” Bertschi said. “The coaching staff is committed to help both teams improve over the next couple of weeks.”
Next games
The Voyageurs men’s and women’s squads will be in St. Albert on Sunday, Oct. 1 to face off against the NAIT OOKs, with the women going on the field at 12 p.m. and the men at 2 p.m. The Voyageurs next home game at the Bold Center fields on October 6 against Keyano College.
Going into the next games, the Portage men’s team sits in fifth place of the seven-team Northern Division of the ACAC, just one point behind Keyano. On the women’s side, Portage is in sixth place of the seven-team Northern Division with one point. They are four points back of fifth Place Kings University and 12 points back of division-leading Keyano.
.
