Women’s soccer finishes second
‘Game could have gone either way,’ says coach
Freshman Kelsey Kinzer battles for the ball against the NAIT Ooks player. The Cougars ended up on the wrong end of a 1-0 game in the ACAC final, finishing in second place. Photo courtesy of Cougar Athletics
Bryce Forbes
Sports Editor
The common theme throughout the Cougars Athletics season seems to be leaving the ACAC with a number of championships as they venture onto Canada West.
First up was the women’s soccer team who battled their way into the ACAC final with an 8-1-1 record during the regular season.
After a victory against Concordia University in the semi-finals, the finals were set between the Cougars against NAIT Ooks on Mount Royal University’s home soil, as the Cougars chased down their ninth ACAC championship.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out as the Ooks Laura Kautz scored in the 24th minute on the way to a 1-0 victory.
“I thought the game could have gone either way,” said head coach Tino Fusco.
“Unfortunately things didn’t go our way, but I’m proud of the girls and I’m proud of the way we battled today.”
The Cougars had a few chances later on, but they couldn’t get anything into the net.
“I’m sad, but it’s been a great five years at Mount Royal,” said midfielder Christina Gaspar, who is graduating from the program after five years.
“The soccer program has been so great and I would recommend it to anyone who wanted to play high- level soccer, get good coaching and experience a great group of girls.”
With the win, Ooks finished off their perfect season 12-0 and are onto the CCAA championship starting Nov. 12.
“We just went with the game plan,” said Sergio Teixeira, Ooks head coach. “We put a lot of pressure on them early on and scored in the beginning, which was great.
“It just feels outstanding, just simply outstanding. I’m just so proud of the girls.”
The all-conference teams were announced as well, with a pair of Cougars on the roster — Karlee Hodl and Kelsey Kizner.
On the men’s side, the team ended up fourth place. The men opened up the playoffs with a 2-0 Concordia Thunder in the quarterfinals but lost to NAIT in the semis and then the Medicine Hat Rattlers in the bronze-medal game.
Sean Colvin, John Cherkas and Jamie Macdonald were each named to the ACAC all-conference team.
