Men's Soccer Huskies conclude regular season, prepare for Kodiaks
The Keyano Huskies Men’s Soccer team won’t go into the 2024 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference’s (ACAC) Men’s Soccer Championship as the top seed in the North Division, but they aren’t deterred by the situation either.
Their final weekend of the regular season, featuring a 1-1 draw against The King’s University Eagles Friday and a 2-1 win against the Portage College Voyageurs Sunday, dropped the Huskies from first to second as the NAIT Ooks overtook them for the top spot. Finishing the season at 9-1-2, the Huskies matched their program’s highest single-season win total and remain confident in what’s to come.
“We were trying to manage some minutes, trying to manage some guys to make sure that we’re set up for championships coming up,” Head Coach Niels Slotboom said. “Good games by both King’s and Portage on both days; gave us a run for our money.
“They made sure we had to pay attention to detail and work on some things that we wanted to work on anyway. We’d love to have two wins, but it doesn’t always go that route. Now, we’re focused on championships.”
Kofi Boateng scored the Huskies’ lone goal Friday. Down 1-0 after a 13th-minute goal Sunday, Joshua Fitzpatrick and Dylan Stewart scored to turn the result in the favour of the Huskies. Corbin Cyprien earned the 18th victory of his ACAC career Sunday.
Now set to face the Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks in the opening round of the 2024 ACAC Men’s Soccer Championship hosted in Grande Prairie, Alta., Slotboom felt the key to coming out successful was continuing to advance the team’s game plan, though he acknowledged the difference in divisions might produce some difficulties due to skill and playing style.
“There’s probably going to be some things that we haven’t seen before and some things that we have,” Slotboom added. “Overall, we really just focus on the way that we play and force our game plan upon the opposition.
“That hasn’t changed much and that won’t change for this game either.”
The Huskies and Kodiaks kick-off at 3:00pm at Hansen Lincoln Field in Grande Prairie, Alta.
All games from both Soccer Championships will be streamed on ACAC TV.