Men's Soccer Huskies retain top spot in North after loss, draw with Ooks

A two-game rematch of last year’s Championship match in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Men’s Soccer between the Keyano College Huskies and NAIT Ooks lived up to the hype this past weekend at Shell Place.  
 
While the Ooks emerged with the right results on the scoreboard, a 2-1-win Saturday and 2-2 draw Sunday, Head Coach Niels Slotboom was encouraged by his student-athletes learning from the experience for it to pay off later on in the season.  
 
“We’re a strong team and we have a lot of players that are returning from our championship season, but we also have a lot of new players that are key components to what we do,” Slotboom said. “There’s no shortcut to experience at our level. That includes playing in tight games, that includes having a lead and still being pushed against.  
 
“Experience is everything and there’s only one way to get it. That’s exactly what this weekend is. Even though we get one point out of a possible six it is one of the biggest steps that we’ll see from the group when it comes to the growth of everybody.”  
 
The Huskies retained first place in the North Division for another week, now sitting at 5-1-1 and seventh in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association, but the results do allow the Ooks the opportunity to overtake them if the teams end up tied at the end of the season.  

Saturday, a pair of goals from Jameson Kiezik featured before Hafid Arellano got the Huskies on the board with a penalty kick in the 73rd minute to wrap up the scoring.  

“A story of two games,” Slotboom continued. “Not a very good first half and then a dominant second half, but just too little too late.  
 
“I think it’s a very good lesson for us to learn against some very good competition; very small margins of error. It’s a good way for the guys to pick that up now. There’s a lot of new players that haven’t gone through something like this at this level. It’s a great lesson to learn right now and still 2-1 game after starting that way is pretty good.” 
 
Sunday, the Huskies had the hot start with a goal in the eighth minute off the head of Zaiden Cook, the first of his ACAC career, and then a 56th minute goal from a Noah Corondo cross that was redirected by the head of Joshua Fitzpatrick.  

“Zaiden’s always been doing the right stuff so it was only a matter of time he got on the right side of it as well,” Slotboom continued. “He’s one of those key guys that’s come in as a rookie, but hasn’t missed a step and continues to trust the process.”

With the Huskies ahead 2-0, the Ooks rebounded in the second half with goals from Jackson Csobot and Kiezik’s third of the weekend to give both teams a single point from the game.  

“A very high-level game. It could’ve gone either way. We were up 2-0, but it was never a big lead,” Slotboom said of Sunday’s result. “Very high-level play; probably the two best teams in the province and with that on the national stage as well.  
 
“Both these games this weekend could’ve gone either way and that’s the small margins at the higher level that we’re playing.” 
 
After a 5-0-0 start, the Huskies feel some added pressure to perform with the Ooks and Lakeland Rustlers hot on their heels in the standings. Winning out would clinch a spot for the Huskies, but the added knowledge that no result is guaranteed will keep them steady and aware for their remaining five regular season games.  
 
The Huskies will open their annual home-and-home series against the Portage College Voyageurs this Sunday, October 6 at Shell Place. The Women’s game kicks off around 12:00pm with the Men following at roughly 2:00pm.