For the Keyano Huskies Men’s Soccer team, there’s an eagerness to atone this weekend for how the 2022 outdoor season ended.
The last time the Men’s Soccer Huskies were on the pitch, they took a hard 1-0 loss in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Bronze Medal game at the hands of this weekend’s opponents, The King’s University Eagles.
“The outdoor season didn’t end the way we wanted,” Head Coach Niels Slotboom said. “Of course it was against King’s too so I’m sure that’ll be a little bit of motivation for the guys as well.
“We’re looking to bring some of the momentum from that season because it was a big turnaround from the year prior to that as well that success in futsal. We’re looking to bring that forward and so far the guys have done that.”
But it’s far from a revenge-style weekend for the home Huskies, who sported a 7-4-1 record in conference play last year, placing them one point behind the second-place Eagles in the race for the North Division crown.
“Obviously we give them their respect because they got two wins on us last year,” Nicholas Carr said. “We want to get [them] back, but we look at them as respectful and another opponent because it’s the regular season to get three points on Friday and three points on Saturday and move on to the next opponent.”
The Huskies have now been together for more than a month, going at it on the pitch in practice, the martial arts studio, and even in cooking classes. It’s been intense for some of the rookies, but also a positive opportunity to bring the team closer together.
"Training twice a day a lot through preseason, it’s good to get to know the guys and off the field as well,” Ben Odd said. “Everyone’s really welcoming so it’s been good.
“It’s been a lot of learning, a lot of mistakes, which have helped us grow as a team and helped us develop moving into the season. I think we’re feeling good.”
Acknowleging the preseason as being one with its own ups and downs, Slotboom noted his team found their groove later on in the 6-1 preseason finale against the Portage Voyageurs last week, a trend he’d like to continue this Friday and Saturday.
“I think we finally have the team to a point where we don’t just have good players, but we have depth and we have a culture built around that,” Slotboom added. “We’re looking to take that next step, not just with 11 guys that are logging most of the minutes, but we have a solid squad of 25 players now that every single position has the competition in it.
“That’s what I look for to be able to build something that can towards a championship.”
The Huskies and Eagles will square off on Friday, September 8 at Holy Trinity High School in Fort McMurray, AB at 7:00 p.m. followed by a rematch on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. to complete the weekend doubleheader.
