Weekend Recap | Sept 27-30
Women’s Soccer take a result despite early setback, men fall to Rattlers
Photo by Caitlin Purcell
The SAIT Women’s Soccer team looked to continue their undefeated season. Striker Meagan Wiebe continues to lead the offence with support from the rest of the squad.
On Saturday, September 28th, the Men’s and Women’s Trojans soccer teams took on the Medicine Hat Rattlers for the first time this season, both at Medicine Hat College Field.
An early setback saw Trojans keeper Erin Mergen receive a red card in the 19th minute after a collision between Mergen and a Rattler player on a breakaway.
Playing with 10 players for the rest of the match, the Trojans women recorded 46 shots on Rattlers keeper Abby Lalach, 23 of them coming on target.
Meagan Wiebe scored her eighth goal of the season off a cross in the 41st minute to put the Trojans up 1-0 going into halftime.
Nikki Charlton scored the second goal for the Trojans just three minutes into the second half off a Gabby Cavezza assist to seal the match.
“Saturday’s performance we were a little bit slow and didn’t really adjust to their low block,” Charlton said when asked about the match. “We still got the win but probably could’ve managed the game better,” she added.
Charlton also commented on her performance, outlining the struggles that come with being a man down, “It was good to get a goal but we couldn’t find momentum after that and still struggled to break their lines,” she said.
The Trojans’ 2-0 win over the Rattlers has them sitting first in the ACAC Women’s Soccer table and ranked third in the Canada Collegiate Athletic Association.
Charlton commented on the standard the Trojans women’s team has created during the season, “The team has been getting the results we are looking for and we are happy to not have dropped any points, but we are not satisfied with the season until we reach our goal of winning provincials,” she said.
On the men's side, the team dealt with more inconsistency.
Miguel Pacheco smashed a goal into the bottom left corner on a half volley from outside the box to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead into halftime.
The second half saw the Rattlers firing from the start, coming out and remaining strong, earning a goal in the 65th minute after Tata Mugisha got on the end of a free kick from outside the box.
The rest of the game was intense, chippy and loud.
Trojans keeper Teo Greco fouled a Rattler striker in the box as he came for a cross and the Rattlers were given a late penalty in the 81st minute.
Former Trojan Joao Cintra, sent Greco the wrong way and tucked away the penalty.
That would turn out to be the game-winner as the Trojans Men’s Soccer team fell 2-1 to the Rattlers.
Trojans midfielder Tes David, commented on the loss to the Rattlers, “The team had a decent performance in the first half,” he said. “But the second half wasn’t so well, we should’ve closed out the game in the first 10-15 minutes of the second half,” he added.
“We tend to switch off in games and that causes us to put ourselves in difficult situations,” David said.
David was voted player of the game after showing consistent drive and leadership for the Trojans.
“I don’t believe I performed my best, but that didn’t prevent me from putting in the effort for my team,” David said when asked about his performance.
The Trojans now sit second in the ACAC Men’s Soccer table, only behind Red Deer Polytechnic.
“I believe we could finish the season strong,” David said.
“This team is young, but when we play for one another and play our brand of football, we really excel.”
Both the Trojans Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams are back in action at home on Saturday, October 5th, against the Olds College Broncos. The women kick off at 2:00 p.m. and the men at noon.
Both teams travel to Red Deer the next day for an exciting matchup against the Red Deer Polytechnic College Queens and Kings.
Photo by Caitlin Purcell
Women’s Fastball prepare for playoffs
Photo by Karoly Ruscka
The Trojans Women’s Fastball team has struggled the last two weeks in the WCSA. Coach Dave Hupman and the team were looking for a turnaround in the final week of the regular season.
The Trojans took on the University of Victoria in Kelowna on Saturday morning.
U of V jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning and scored three more runs that concluded the game at 7-2.
Samara Sawyer and Chloe Kilgore paced the Trojans offensively with two singles each. Lauren Dansereau had a single and a walk, Lily Roberts had a single in her return to the team after missing the previous three weekends.
Saturday afternoon saw a back-and-forth game against the Mount Royal University Cougars.
In the previous matchup weeks ago, the Trojans offence flowed and shut out the Cougars 7-0.
The Cougars came out with a vengeance and jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
The Trojans bounced back and took a 5-3 lead after four innings. Mount Royal responded over the next couple of innings and pulled away with the victory.
For the Trojans, Sawyer pitched the complete game, Tehya Funk and Joceline each hit a double to lead the Trojans offence.
SAIT closed out their day Saturday night with a game against the University of BC Okanagan, a stern test for the Trojans as UBCO currently sits first in the WCAA.
SAIT fell behind 9-0 after two innings but kept battling and got on the board in the bottom of the third inning, with UBCO eventually prevailing 11-3.
An early game for the Trojans on Sunday, had the University of Victoria come away with a 2-0 win.
The Trojans couldn't capitalize on several runners in scoring position, which cost them a tight game against U of V.
The Trojans' last game Sunday was another strong effort vs UBCO.
The game was a back-and-forth affair but UBCO prevailed 6-3.
Aly Meyer had two singles and an RBI, while Funk, Roberts and Douglas each had a single, with Roberts’ single producing an RBI.
Coach Hupman commented on the weekend for the Trojans, “Spirits remain high, the team is peaking at the right time and is playing a very high level of fastball as we prepare for the WCSA playoffs,” he said.
“I am so proud of how the team represents SAIT with class, integrity, good sportsmanship and empathy,” Hupman added.
SAIT sweeps the podium in ACAC Cross Country
Photo by Danny Sison- STMU Lightning Athletics
It was a one, two, three finish for SAIT in the men’s 8km race on Saturday, with all top three runners coming from SAIT.
On Saturday, September 28th, St. Mary’s University hosted the fourth ACAC Running Room Grand Prix.
Yahye Jama captured first place in the race, representing SAIT with a time of 26:02 and a 3:15 pace per/km.
Following Jama was Moktar Said for SAIT in second with a 26:29 time and a 3:21 pace per/km.
With a time of 26:51 and a 3:21 pace per/km, third place went to Nathan Woyessa of SAIT.
Other notable finishes for SAIT included Max Reisinger (14), Evan Ballehumeur (17) and Chase Chambers (20).
The SAIT men continue to dominate the podium and the ACAC Cross Country races, including ranking first for the CCAA Men’s Cross Country.
In the women’s 6km race, Kerigan Frampton, running for SAIT, finished seventh with a time of 26:32 and a 4:25 pace/km.
Sierra Halwa finished thirty second in the race with a time of 30:20 and a 5:03 pace per/km.
The upcoming Running Room Grand Prix Country Race is at noon on Saturday, October 12th in Camrose, hosted by the University of Alberta-Augustana.
Men’s Rugby fall short against UBCO
The Trojans Men’s Rugby Team took their second loss of the season on Saturday in Kelowna to the University of British Colombia Okanagan Heat.
The final score was 57-7 for UBCO as the Trojans recorded their second consecutive loss.
Gordon Mitchel had the lone try for the Trojans and Andrew Brose connected on a strong convert.
Article written by Alec Wells, Trojans Men's Soccer Athlete and Journalism Student at SAIT