Men's Soccer Huskies top Voyageurs to retain top spot in ACAC North Division

The pathway for the Keyano Huskies Men’s Soccer team is clearer after a weekend win against the Portage College Voyageurs to close out the home side of their regular season schedule.  
 
A 3-0 result boosted the Huskies to 6-1-1 on the season. Rookie Shakir Mitha continued to shine bright with a pair of first half goals while Hafid Arellano converted on a penalty kick to give the Huskies three more points in the standings. Goalkeeper Jaiden McLaren earned the win and shutout for the Huskies.   

“It’s a game that’s a bit sloppy, but we dominated the first half and put the game away there,” Head Coach Niels Slotboom said. “It allowed us to manage it a little bit in the second half. Overall, it’s a good response and good three points and now we’ve got to move onto the next weekend.”  

Arellano assisted on the Huskies’ third goal of the match to give him a conference-leading total of seven assists. Kofi Boateng added a helper on the opening goal of the match. Josh Fitzpatrick, who earned Player of the Game honours for the Huskies, said it was good for the team to reset after the loss and draw against the Ooks.  
 
“Every game moving forward is pretty important,” Fitzpatrick said. “Today, it was one of the most important because of how last weekend went.  
 
“I’m glad that the boys were able to refocus and just play our game through the whole 90 minutes. Nobody switched off. We were all tuned in, and we played our game today.”   

Mitha’s star continued to shine brighter with the two-goal effort, giving him four on the season. 

“That’s why we like him and that’s why offensively we did struggle a little bit in that short amount of time he was out,” Slotboom said. “He’s a very explosive and quick player and knows how to finish.  
 
“We know that he’s capable of that so when we miss him in the lineup, it’s forced us to change. Just a proof of what he’s capable of when he’s healthy.”   

The competitiveness of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference’s North Division continued to keep teams in the mix as the weekend results left five teams in double-digit points in the standings with first through fifth separated by nine points. Three of those teams, including the Huskies, have a game in-hand over the other two, adding to the tension. 

“Our league is so tight,” Slotboom continued. “We’ve got to make sure we make every point count. This upcoming weekend, playing King’s and Concordia, Concordia is a little bit further out, but King’s is still a threat for the second spot.  
 
“If we take care of things this weekend, things look pretty good for us, but it’s one game at a time.”  
 
The Huskies will clash with The King’s University Eagles Saturday at 4:00pm followed by a 2:00 meeting with the Concordia Thunder Sunday.