Women's Futsal Huskies open season with renewed confidence

The Keyano Huskies Women’s Futsal team will charge into their first day of action for the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) futsal season Saturday in Lac La Biche, Alta.

Members of the squad that impressed in the outdoor season have taken their talents indoors and are in pursuit of an ACAC medal.

“If you’re confident I don’t think it matters what you’re doing,” Head Coach Niels Slotboom said. “That momentum from outdoor and the success that we had there obviously brought up the confidence of the group as a whole and that confidence, you can see it in practices be it in soccer or futsal.

“The confidence piece is huge for our game.”

Before the Huskies can set their sights on earning another medal for the program, they’ll need to get past the Lakeland Rustlers and Portage Voyageurs in round-robin action. Placed in the North East Division, the Huskies beat both of those opponents during the soccer season, though there’s no telling how easily that’ll transfer over to the indoors.

“We’re just trying to feel things out,” student athlete Emma Bendera said. “Hopefully we come out strong, get the advantage.”

The Huskies’ last medal in the sport came during the 2015-16 season, where they earned a silver. They’ve also earned three bronze medals in the time the sport has been part of the ACAC.

To properly prepare his side, Slotboom was stressing that things wouldn’t replicate themselves exactly like they did in the soccer season with the same players.

“Teams can look so dramatic and different from soccer to futsal because there’s less players on the field, a lot different playing style, different playing surface,” Slotboom continued. “There’s a lot of different things. It’s still hard to judge.

“It’s a different sport; different outcomes can happen as well."

There are strategic lessons the club can take into their technical approach to the game however, noted Bendera.

“The biggest thing from outdoor is we take our touches, we take our ball work and we just put it into a faster pace game,” she said. “This year, we have a really solid futsal strategy. Everyone seems a lot more confident in their positions.”

The Women’s Futsal Huskies take on the Rustlers at 1:00 p.m. followed by a matchup with the Voyageurs at 4:00 p.m.