The Keyano Huskies Women's Futsal team open the 2022 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women's Futsal Championship Saturday morning with a 7-3 win against the Lethbridge Kodiaks.
"Very good start; very poor 20 minutes following the start and then finally got back to our consistency," Head Coach Niels Slotboom said. "The second half was pretty dominant so that's why we're winning in the end."
After Nathalie Andersson and Natalie Orellana scored in the opening moments of the game, the Kodiaks struck back quickly to tie the matchup. That's how things would stand until the second half, when the Huskies began with another pair of quick strikes.
The Kodiaks would make a similar push after the Huskies went up 4-2, but couldn't equalize things. As part of the second half goal onslaught, Andersson completed a hat trick.
"We started off fast and then we didn't play our level at first," Andersson said. "After the first half and we settled in pretty well and we kept consistency and we played our game.
"I got really excited and I just kept moving and trying to strike it and today I was really lucky and it's good that it's coming in the championship."
The performance from the Andersson earned praise from Slotboom, who said the performance was the product of her training all season.
"Nathalie's done really well," Slotboom said. "She's grown throughout the year, not just in futsal, but right from day one in August that we started to where we are now she's come a long way.
"It's always great to see them be rewarded for something like that."
In net, Madison Tyson turned in a spectacular performance, making several solid saves from a potent Lethbridge offence. She timed several mid-air saves perfectly and was quick to deny them on chances in close among a flurry of bodies.
Along with Orellana's single strike, Selena Arima, Danika Depot, and Sophie Griffiths also scored. Depot's first goal of the season was a notable one, coming against her former team in the Kodiaks.
"It's probably a pretty cool one for her because she's already played with Lethbridge herself so playing against your old team can be a bit nerve-wracking sometimes," Slotboom continued. "Once you score against them there's probably not very many better feelings."
The Huskies next game will take place at 6:30 p.m. against the NAIT Ooks.
While there's still plenty of tournament to go for them, the win is a positive start they'll take.
"With three new teams that we haven't played, obviously every game is going to look different," Andersson said. "It's nice to have a 1-0 so far and it's going to put us in a good position for the final game."
2022 ACAC Women's Futsal Championship host by The King's University Eagles - Keyano Huskies Schedule
Saturday, March 26 - Lethbridge Kodiaks 3 Keyano Huskies 7
Saturday, March 26 - NAIT Ooks vs. Keyano Huskies - 6:30 pm
Sunday, March 27 - SAIT Trojans vs. Keyano Huskies - 12:30 pm
Sunday, March 27 - Bronze medal game - 3:00 pm
Sunday, March 27 - Gold medal game - 6:30 pm
