Menting scores twice as Women's Soccer Huskies sweep season series with Voyageurs
The Keyano Huskies Women’s Soccer team found their way back to the win column with a 4-0 result on the road against the Portage College Voyageurs Saturday. With it, the Huskies changed the tune from the past two weekends that saw them earn four points of a possible 12.
“It was good,” Head Coach Niels Slotboom said of the result. “Not a great execution of the overall game plan, but we won 4-0, we have three points, so we just move on to the next weekend.”
Aimée Menting scored twice in the match while Rofyda Khaleel and Marissa Mestre added single strikes. Khaleel and Mestre also earned assists while Madison Tyson and Julia Shebib also contributed assists in the win.
At 3-2-1, the Huskies find themselves out of a playoff spot for the moment, though it’s understandable given how things have shaken out so far.
On a positive outlook, two out of the four games the NAIT Ooks and Concordia Thunder haven’t earned full points in have come against the Huskies. The Huskies are also in the thick of the race for the final playoff spot in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) North Division.
“We probably had the most challenging start to the season when it comes to having the two top teams right now in the league being our second and third weekends,” Slotboom said. “We still have control over it, but we have to get if not all the points, the majority of the points coming up here in the last half of the season.
“We also took points off of teams that no one else is going to. I think that if we take care of our own business we’ll be in playoffs where we should be.”
That makes every weekend from here on out almost a must-win for the Huskies. In that aforementioned playoff race, the Huskies can rise in the standings and put another team down as they face The King’s University Eagles (3-2-2), who occupy fifth place in the division one point ahead of the Huskies.
To do that, they’ll need to continue to rely upon talents like Menting, who returned the scoresheet after a three-game absence. Slotboom complimented his rookie midfielder, who has been trending in the right direction with her progress to date.
“She really has been picking it up every weekend as we go. I think that the dots are starting to connect to her,” he said. “She’s starting to understand where she can be successful and effective so that’s what we’re seeing every game now. She’s been great and I’m sure that’ll continue.”
The Huskies and The King’s University Eagles will meet at SMS Equipment Place Friday and Saturday. Friday’s kick-off will be at 6:00pm while Saturday’s games will begin at 2:00pm. The Women’s game will feature first with the Men’s game following.
