The Portage College Voyageurs men’s and women’s soccer squads were kept off the scoreboard entirely during a double-header series against the NAIT Ooks in St. Albert on Sunday.
Injuries remain an issue.
The Portage women dropped a 4-0 decision to the Ooks, while the men’s team was defeated 9-0. Injuries have plagued both squads since the beginning of the season, but have been particularly onerous for the women. Halfway through Sunday’s match, goalkeeper LIz McLeod suffered an injury that forced her to sit out the rest of the match.
McLeod’s replacement didn’t last long either.
“A replacement was injured quickly after she began her shift, and a third goalie was utilized,” said interim coach Al Robertson. “These changes to the roster, along with other injuries, created a couple of scoring opportunities for NAIT which they capitalized on.”
Scoreboard not the whole story
Despite the reduced roster and eventual loss, the women’s squad played strongly on the pitch, said the coach.
“It was a back-and-forth game with pressure going both ways. There was strong and consistent play by the whole team, but Liz McLeod was strong in net before her injury…the defensive core was outstanding,” Robertson said, adding that the ACAC Player of the Game nod went to Voyageur fullback Ashley Hennenfent.”
The men’s side also played better than the final score showed, said Robertson. They were also battling injuries.
“Although the team played outstanding team soccer, the short bench meant tired players — and it showed, with a number of goals given up in the last part of the game,” he said, adding that goalkeeper Tanner Davidson-Sykes faced 18 shots through the game, doing what he could to back-dtop a tired team in front of him. “Our offensive core kept pushing on despite their tired legs.”
The Voyageurs men, who have five straight defeats (including Sunday’s game), remain in fifth place in the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference (ACAC) North Division standings while the women, who have also dropped five of their last games, hold onto sixth place in the ACAC North Division Women's Soccer Standings.
Sunday’s double header matches were the first of the five remaining ACAC regular season games. The Voyageurs are back on home turf Friday, Oct. 6, when they host the Keyano College Huskies. The women’s game starts at 5pm and the men’s game follows
“We look forward to the return of our injured players and a full bench for our next game,” said Robertson.
