Women's Soccer Huskies set to return to pitch Saturday

Following an undefeated preseason, the Keyano Huskies women's soccer team will return to the pitch in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) regular season play Saturday with renewed hope and strong expectations of themselves. 

Bolstered by a 2-0 record in the pre-season and a two-week break to heal some early-season bumps and bruises, the team feels they're hitting their stride at the right time. 

"The rest probably came at the right time," said head coach Niels Slotboom. "We were still able, with that rest, to keep the intensity in sessions and make sure we continue to work at a game speed. 

"I'm excited to see what they can do." 

The delay in play due to COVID stopped what could have arguably been the strongest moment for the women's program in their history. Their 2019 season saw them go 5-6-1 in their 12-game schedule, scoring 31 goals while only conceding 21. Agonizingly, they missed the playoffs by two points. 

"We have a goal to get this program up as high as it can be," said Slotboom. "With the girls that we have now and Keyano as a college in general, we have all the things that we need to start making a dent in the league and we're starting to become a regular at championships and things like that." 

The players, even those who are newer to the team, are aware of how close they were to achieving the goal and want that success all the same. 

"I think it's just one challenge that we all really are eager to break," said Selena Arima. "We want to be that first team [ to qualify for playoffs]. 

"That extra challenge is going to push the team harder to reach that goal even more."

A 10-0 win against the Edmonton Strikers and 5-0 result against the Red Deer Queens has reinforced positive thinking and shown positive results of their play so far, but there's still an air of caution in looking too much into those results. 

"We want to see how we are in the game environment," added Arima. "An exhibition game is completely different from the season itself. 

"We want to see how we are, adapt to that, and use that as leverage hopefully. They've changed a couple years, we've changed as well." 

In the Concordia Thunder, their Saturday opponents, they'll face a team that beat them 2-1 and 3-0 during the 2019-20 season. To carry the team forward, the Huskies will rely on veteran players like Isabela Bustos-Chaba to guide the team forward. 

"[Isabela] has been great so far," said Slotboom. "She's been here the longest out of everybody and you can tell that. 

"She's definitely taken some players under her wing and has taken care of them. She's not the only one by any means, but she'll definitely be an impact player." 

The women's soccer Huskies host the Concordia Thunder Saturday at TC Park. Kick-off is scheduled for at 2:00 p.m.