Windsor, Ont. - The Keyano Huskies Men’s Soccer team will play for a chance to end up on the national podium Saturday in Windsor, Ont.
A 3-2 win against the Collège Ahuntsic Aigles Friday pushed the Huskies into Saturday’s Bronze Medal game at the 2023 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s Soccer National Championship.
“We made it a bigger battle than needed, but we got the job done in the end so it’ll be exciting to play in it tomorrow,” Head Coach Niels Slotboom said. “We had to get them back on the same page. We started off very slow and very sloppy.
“The first couple minutes were okay where we had two breakaways that we just gave it back to them. Doing that alone would’ve changed this game completely and I think it would’ve been fairly lopsided if those first couple chances go our way.”
The Huskies made it harder than needed, conceding goals in the 12th and 33rd minutes of the game to give their opponents a 2-0 lead. However, they worked quick to erase that deficit with goals from William Ly in the 36th minute and then a James Bartha strike in the 42nd minute.
“We got off the same page as a group together and it was a lot of individual stuff,” Slotboom said. “The coaching and the points on the field were all about coming back together and sticking to what we know works.
“We saw it out, though it was quite the challenge not just from our own, but the referees made some interesting calls as well.”
From there on out, it was the Huskies’ game to lose as they controlled possession and finally broke through for the go-ahead goal in the 75th minute.
Off a corner by Hafid Arellano, Bartha found the perfect redirection from his head into the net to give the Huskies a lead they wouldn’t relinquish over a card-filled final 20 minutes.
“It feels good, especially knowing that coming to nationals we wanted to win, but having the chance to come out with a medal and prove that we’re third in the nation is something that we would never have thought of three years ago,” Nicholas Carr said. “It just shows our adversity.
“We did it in the final at the ACAC and we went down two-nil and we all tried to keep a positive attitude. It showed; we equalized in the first half [after] going down two.”
That win now sets up a rematch against the St. Clair Saints in Saturday’s Bronze Medal match. Kick-off is scheduled for 11:30am MT/1:30pm ET at Acumen Stadium in Windsor, Ont.
| November 11, 2023 | ||||
| 11:00 am ET | Match 12 | Ahuntsic | VIU | Scoresheet |
| 1:30 pm ET | Bronze | Keyano | St. Clair | Acumen Stadium at the St. Clair Sportspark |
| 4:00 pm ET | Gold | Conestoga | Douglas | Acumen Stadium at the St. Clair Sportspark |
| 6:00 pm ET | Closing Ceremonies | Acumen Stadium at the St. Clair Sportspark | ||
