News & Notes: Men's Soccer Huskies clash with Ooks in battle of top teams
Following a single-point weekend in Lloydminster, Alta., the Keyano Huskies Men's Soccer team will look to build upon a chance to return to their home field with a pair of games against the NAIT Ooks at Shell Place. The games will also serve as the final opportunity to watch the Huskies in the regular season, highlighted by Sunday's senior day, which will see three graduating players honoured.
Matchups:
Saturday - Keyano Huskies vs. NAIT Ooks - 4:00 p.m. - Shell Place (Free admission)
Sunday - Keyano Huskies vs. NAIT Ooks - 2:00 p.m. - Shell Place (Free admission)
Sunday's game will see the graduating trio of Jordan Khalilifar, Ottys Ondon, and Sahil Walia recognized for senior day.
In a matchup between the top two teams in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference's (ACAC) North Division, the Huskies will face a strong challenge from the Ooks. Their last result, at the end of the regular season in 2021, saw the Huskies earn a scrappy 1-1 draw with the Ooks to prevent them from recording a perfect record.
Both teams will have a keen eye on the results from the Lakeland Rustlers, who challenge the Concordia Thunder and Portage College Voyageurs this weekend. With 18 points, the Rustlers are one point back of the Huskies for second place in the ACAC North Division. Simply put, the Huskies are in a must-win position to avoid hosting a play-in game.
In action against the Portage College Voyageurs and Concordia Thunder this weekend, The King's Eagles will be able to secure the fourth and final spot in the playoff race in the ACAC North Division, potentially setting up a match against Huskies in the play-in game.
While the Huskies' recent results haven't been favourable, they'll love returning to their home field, where they've conceded just a single goal all season.
The game will feature the ACAC's top two goalscorers in Men's Soccer with James Bartha on the Huskies and Matthew Zima from the Ooks. The pair have combined for 23 goals this season while the Huskies and Ooks have two of the three best defences in terms of goals conceded this season. The Ooks have conceded three goals to the Huskies' eight.
Caleb Kehler has rocketed into the second spot in goal scoring for the Huskies with six goals this season. Cristian Lima has also been a scoring threat for the Ooks with nine goals to date.
The trio of Bartha, Zima, and Lima represent three of the top four goalscorers in the ACAC.
The Huskies need a single goal over their final three games to reach the 30-goal plateau for the fourth time in program history.
With a 3-0-0 record at home, the Huskies have the opportunity to achieve a perfect home record for this season. Their last perfect home record during an outdoor season was in 2017 when they went 4-0-0 with a pair of victories against the Thunder and Eagles.
Corbin Cyrpien enters this weekend with 540 minutes played of the 810 for the Huskies this season as well as a 0.83 goals against average. The last Men's Soccer Huskies goalkeeper to play the majority of their minutes in a full outdoor season and record a GAA below 1.00 was