Championship Weekend

COUGAR WOMEN
It’s hard to believe it’s that time already, but ACAC soccer playoffs are back and the Cougars are hungry.

The Mount Royal University Cougar men and women will each begin their quests for ACAC supremacy this weekend, and both will have their work cut out for them if they are to finish at the top.

In their final game of the season the Cougar women (8-1-1) found themselves in a ‘win-and-you’re-in’ scenario. In as in the host of the ACAC playoffs that is. The top team in the south division will be the host team this year, and the Cougars will play on their home pitch for one last chance at an ACAC title.

After trailing the Red Deer Queens (7-0-3) in the points standings since the second week of the regular season, the lady Cougars needed a win on Sunday to finish atop the south division. The Cougars only loss of the season came at the hands of the Queens in the season’s second week, and draw on Sunday would have put each team at 24 points, giving the Queens the edge in the tiebreaker.

The Cougars are on a seven game unbeaten streak and have rattled off three straight wins to leapfrog the Queens in the standings. As a result they will receive a first round bye straight into Saturday’s semi-final action. The NAIT Ooks (10-0) are the top seed in the north division, and have completely dominated their opponents this season, outscoring them 52-8 over the course of the regular season.

Returning for the Ooks is perhaps one of the league’s most dangerous players in Leanne Kadatz.

Kadatz, has scored an amazing 42 goals in 20 regular season games the past two seasons, and the remaining teams will all have to be mindful of her every time she touches on the pitch.

Quarter-final action will pit the north division’s third-seeded MacEwan Griffins (6-3-1) against the Red Deer Queens, and the north’s second-seeded Concordia Thunder (7-2-1) against the south’s third seed, the Medicine Hat Rattlers (6-2-2).

The winner of the Rattler-Thunder game will face the Cougars at 2 p.m. on Saturday, while either the Griffins or the Queens will play the Ooks at noon.

The lady Cougars are looking to exorcise some demons this weekend after last year’s heartbreaking semi-final loss, and anything short of a finals appearance will be a disappointment to this year’s squad.

Led by veteran fifth-year players Mallory McNab and Christina Gaspar, as well as leading scorers Karlee Hodl and Kelsey Kinzner, the Cougars will host what will be their final ACAC championship before moving on to the Canada West next season.

The Cougars goal differential of +19 was a south division best, and MRU will look to continue that trend, led by goalkeeper Ainsley Cardoso-Wanger from the back end.

Head coach Tino Fusco’s girls are a motivated squad with redemption on their minds, and will be a tough out for any team they face.

Fusco says the time is now. “I don’ think it matters what you do in league play,” said Fusco
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we know we’ll be in the semi-final to start and if we can win that, we’re in the final. We’ll be doing our homework to see what we might be up against, and we’ll be breaking down the video on Friday night, as we get that advantage and extra day of preparation. On any given day you’ve got to come out and play your best, and hopefully our best is better than the opponent on that day – I’m excited.”

Regardless of Saturday’s result, the Cougars are guaranteed to be playing for a medal on Sunday.

Should they win, they’ll advance Sunday’s gold medal game at MRU at 2:00 p.m., a loss would relegate them to the bronze medal match Sunday at noon.

Best of luck and bring home a title!

COUGAR MEN

Meanwhile, the Cougar men (5-3-2) have secured the number two seed in the south division behind the top-ranked Medicine Hat Rattlers and will face the number three seed in the north division – the Concordia Thunder (4-3-3).

Hosting this year’s championships on the men’s side is the top-seeded team in the north division – the NAIT Ooks (8-0-2), who lead the entire ACAC in goal differential and are looking like the early favorites as headed into the weekend.

If the Cougar men can get through the Thunder on Friday, they will meet the host team in the first semi-final matchup on Saturday for what would definitely be their toughest test to date.

Head coach Jamie Pollock said his team will “need to be very organized as Concordia has shown both this year and in the past to be a very strong attacking side, with the ability to score.”

The other quarterfinal matchup will pit the north division’s second-seeded MacEwan Griffins (6-2-2) against the south’s third seed, the Lethbridge Kodiaks (5-4-1). The winner of that matchup will have a date with the Rattlers for the second semi-final pairing.

The Cougars have dealt with some growing pains this season after losing some key veterans in the offseason, but have played well as of late thanks to key contributions from first year man Sean Colvin, as well as midfielder Caden Sawatzky and their always vocal goaltender David Thalheimer.

The Cougars registered a pair of draws over the past weekend against the Rattlers and the Kodiaks, showing marked improvement after losing to each of those opponents early in the season.

Shifts in the on-field attitude and the level of competitiveness have been the main reasons for the Cougars’ four-game unbeaten streak, and coach Pollock’s blue-and-white are peaking at the right time.

Best of luck Cougars!