Day 3 Bronze Medal Recap:
October 30, 2022- It was a big-time bronze medal performance for the hosts, as the Lethbridge College Kodiaks mined a medal from the 2022 ACAC women's soccer championships. The Kodiaks scored twice in the second half to shutout the NAIT Ooks 2-0 and finish their season on a high note in front of a vocal group of supporters at Comets Stadium in Raymond, Alta. It is the third straight ACAC bronze medal for the Kodiaks.
Lethbridge College head coach Sean Carey credited his players for their winning effort. "The refuse to lose attitude that they have," shared Carey after the match. "It was pretty straightforward, not one of them wanted anything but the medal today, so they were not going to let NAIT in there today and they just battled and battled."
The Ooks had the game's best early chance as Sarah Weremczuk (first year, Open Studies, Edmonton) found herself untouched with space in front of the net, but Kodiaks netminder Brooke Krowchuk (first year, Criminal Justice – Policing, Cochrane) made a big save, and the rebound opportunity then sailed high of the net. Krowchuk was forced into action after Kodiaks starting goalie Jordan Quinn (second year, Bachelor of Nursing, Picture Butte) was hurt during the ACAC semifinal, and Krowchuk had a great game, stopping all six shots she faced.
Late in the half, the Kodiaks Montanna Rouselle (first year, General Studies, Cranbrook) thrilled the home crowd with a rush down the wing, eluding a pair of Ooks defenders, but NAIT keeper Kailey Harder (fourth year, Advanced Care Paramedic, Edmonton) came charging out of the net to steal away the ball and the scoring opportunity to keep the game scoreless at half.
Scoring chances were tough to come by on a blustery day, but the Kodiaks finally broke through in the 68th minute. Off an Olivia DePasquale (third year, General Studies, Airdrie) corner kick, the ball was bouncing loose in the goalmouth until Kaleigh Stock (second year, Medical Device Reprocessing, Lethbridge) got a foot on it to knock it across the line to give the Kodiaks a 1-0 lead.
"We have a pretty short bench this season," says Stock. "But I think our work ethic and how hard we've worked all together really changed like this game and how we got here and I'm just really proud of everybody."
Pressing for the equalizer, the Ooks applied pressure throughout most of the half, but were unable to generate much in the way of chances. The Kodiaks then caught a break in the 86th minute as Harder, the Ooks netminder, misplayed the ball. Rousselle was in the right spot to take advantage, striking it across the line to make it 2-0 Kodiaks, securing the bronze medal for the hosts.
Stock was named player of the game for the Kodiaks, while Rachel Kraft (second year, Medical Radiologic Technology, Cochrane) earned the same honour for the Ooks.
The Kodiaks Taylor Hrycun (fourth year, General Studies, Edmonton) and Nikki Stahl (fourth year, Academic Upgrading, Lethbridge), and NAIT's Harder and Eleni Stamatakis (fifth year, Personal Fitness Trainer, Edmonton) were all named to the ACAC all-tournament team.
The 2022 ACAC Soccer Championships, presented by the Southern Alberta Homes Team at Royal Lepage South Country, are hosted by Lethbridge College at Comet Stadium in Raymond, Alta. All tournament information can be found online. Additional photos from this game can be found on the Lethbridge College Kodiaks Flickr page.
Day 2 Semi-Final Recap:
The Concordia Thunder rumbled to a spot in the ACAC championship game by taking out their cross-city rivals from NAIT 3-0 in a semifinal on a sunny but windy Saturday afternoon. It was a physical, hard-fought affair fitting of the all-Edmonton rivalry, but the Thunder, who led the ACAC north division with an 11-1 regular season record, persevered to secure the victory and a spot in Sunday's championship game against the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens.
"We were just trying to stick with our game plan," said Franco Imbrogno, Concordia head coach. "They've been a formidable force for so many years, so it was just continuing to play our game."
The team's traded chances in the first half. The Thunder's best early look came off the foot of Caylie Rich (second year, Edmonton) who found herself open right in front of the net, but netminder Kailey Harder (fourth year, Advanced Care Paramedic, Edmonton), charged out to make the save and preserve the clean sheet. At the other end of the pitch, a great opportunity for NAIT turned into a scary looking incident as Toni Burse (fourth year, Business Administration, Edmonton) went up for a header near the goal line. The ball drifted wide as Burse collided with Thunder goalkeeper Monica Dickson (fourth year, Edmonton) in mid-air. Both players received medical attention, but fortunately, both were able to remain in the game.
Late in the opening half, the Thunder caught a break to open the scoring. In the 40th minute, a NAIT defender played the ball back to Harder near the Ooks net, but the spinning ball caused confusion for the NAIT netminder as she misplayed it, allowing Concordia's Rich to deposit the ball into a wide-open net. The miscue gave the Thunder a 1-0 lead at half.
The Ooks had won seven of the past nine ACAC championships, but found it tough to generate chances on Saturday. The second half started with the second scary collision of the game between NAIT forward Burse and Concordia keeper Dickson. Once again, Dickson made the save, but both players stayed down on the pitch for several minutes receiving medical attention. Dickson was again able to stay in the game, but Burse received a yellow card and also left the game due to an injury.
The Thunder broke through in the 80th minute as Breanna Callander (fourth year, Edmonton) sent a perfect lead pass through the middle to Vanessa Pietramala (second year, Edmonton) who ripped the ball into the back of the net for a 2-0 Concordia lead. The Thunder cemented the victory in extra time, as once again, Callander sent a through pass to Madison Gamache (fourth year, Edmonton) who fired home Concordia's third goal of the game to cap off the victory.
Defender Anne McLelland (second year, Edmonton) was named player of the game for the Thunder, while midfielder Lamisi Sirett (first year, Academic Upgrading, Edmonton) earned player of the game for the Ooks.
"The key is just keeping our heads working together as a team," says McLelland. "Just doing what we've done the entire season."
The Thunder will face the Queens for the championship at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Comets Stadium in Raymond, Alta. The Ooks will now play the host Lethbridge College Kodiaks with a bronze medal on the line at 10 a.m. sunday morning
Day 1 Quarter-Final Recap:
October 28, 2022- It took penalty shots to decide the winner of the quarterfinal game between the NAIT Ooks and SAIT Trojans at the 2022 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women's Soccer Championships Friday night at Comet Stadium in Raymond, Alta. In the end, NAIT edged past SAIT thanks to three goals on penalty kicks at the end of extra time for a final score of 4-3. NAIT goaltender Kailey Harder (fourth year, Advanced Care Paramedic, Edmonton, Alta.) earned Ooks Player of the Game honours for her stellar play not only in net but as a penalty kick goal scorer.
"We came into it with a really, really good mindset," says Harder. "And we always say we're going to come in and work our hardest."
A victory in the win-or-go-home knockout round, means NAIT will move on to play the No. 1 seed in the North Division, Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder, in semifinal action at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The opening goal came from SAIT winger Harleen Kaur Singh (third year, Business Administration, Calgary, Alta.) late in the first half on a free kick in the 39th minute. Singh hit the top corner, beating Harder to make it 1-nil for the Trojans.
A chance at the equalizer followed just minutes later as Ooks defender Eleni Stamatakis (fifth year, Personal Fitness Trainer, Edmonton, Alta.) was awarded a penalty kick in the 42ndminute. A big save by SAIT goalie Erin Mergen (second year, Business Administration, Calgary, Alta.) kept NAIT off the scoreboard.
In the second half, a quick unassisted goal in the 49th minute by NAIT midfielder Rayna Hamieh (fifth year, Advanced Care Paramedic, Edmonton, Alta.) tied the game at 1-1.
SAIT's Emma Ward, named to the South Division All Conference Team, missed a chance at the go-ahead goal in the 57th minute – firing her penalty kick just wide of the left goalpost.
Much of the action in the second half was in the NAIT end as the Trojans pressured to take the lead. A gutsy save by the Ooks goalkeeper in the 85th minute kept the game tied when Harder charged the ball and smothered it.
Extra time saw chances at both ends of the pitch and a yellow card to Ward in the 18th minute.
"I think our team's ability to stay positive and battle no matter what adversity we faced, (was instrumental)," says NAIT head coach Alesha Weicker-Pasternak. "We had some challenges that were thrown at us throughout the game and the girls did well to battle together and overcome those obstacles throughout."
SAIT's midfielder, Jasmin Salmon (fifth year, Primary Care Paramedic, Medicine Hat, Alta.), was named Player of the Game for her efforts.
The 2022 ACAC Soccer Championships, presented by the Southern Alberta Homes Team at Royal Lepage South Country, are hosted by Lethbridge College at Comet Stadium in Raymond, Alta. All tournament information can be found online. Additional photos from this game can be found on the Lethbridge College Kodiaks Flickr page.
Playoff Preview:
The NAIT Ooks women's soccer team takes the field in the ACAC Championships this weekend. This season three teams from the north and three from the south will battle it out in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Here's how it'll work: The second-place team in each division will face off against the third-place team in the opposite division for a quarterfinal battle. The winner of the quarterfinals will go on to play the first-place team of the opposite division in the semi-finals. The two losing semi-finalists will play for bronze on Sunday morning. Finally, the two semi-final winners will face off on Sunday afternoon in the gold medal game. The winner of the ACAC Championship will earn their spot in the CCAA National Tournament at Champlain College Saint-Lambert in St-Lambert, ON, from November 9th-12th.
The ACAC added a play-in game this year. Each division's third and fourth-place teams had to battle it out for their spot in the ACAC Championships. The NAIT women's soccer team finished third in the north, so they had to play the fourth-place Northwestern Polytechnic Wolves. Down late in the game, NAIT had an impressive comeback against the Wolves, winning 2-1 and earning their spot in the Championship tournament.
"It's a great achievement for the group. The goal at the start of the season was to make it to the Championship, and we battled hard game in and game out to achieve this goal. As excited as the team is that we have achieved this goal, we know that we still have a lot of work left to do and are focused on achieving our next goal," said Head Coach Alesha Weicker-Pasternak.
Midfield Sarah Moorji and goalkeeper Kailey Harder were named to the ACAC All-Conference team for the 2022/23 season.
NAIT is going into the Championships as the third-place seed in the north. They will take on the second-place team in the south, SAIT, in the quarterfinals on Friday, October 28th, at 5:30 PM. You can catch the games on acactv.ca. For more Championship information, click here.