HUSKIES BATTLE PROVINCIAL RIVAL IN QUARTER-FINAL2012-10-26
Both the University of Regina and Saskatchewan women’s soccer teams broke all kinds of program records in 2012-13.
The end result was a Canada West quarter-final matchup. Regina finished fourth in the Canada West standings and earned the right tohost No. 5-seeded Saskatchewan in the conference quarterfinals.
The Cougars and the Huskies will square off on Sunday at the U of R Field, with kickoff scheduled for noon. The winner will move on to the Canada West Final Four, which will be hosted next weekend by the highest of the four seeds to advance from the quarter-finals.
Saskatchewan registered wins in each of its final four games to end up with an 8-4-0 Canada West record, finishing just one point behind the Cougars in the standings. The eight wins marked a program-best season for the Huskies.
It is the first time in program history the Huskies have earned the right to play in the conference’s postseason. In 1999 when the conference championship host was decided on a rotational basis, Saskatchewan hosted.
The Huskies are led offensively by rookie striker Jenelle Zapski, who scored eight goals in her first Canada West season. Fellow rookie striker Erica Hindmarsh has also been strong for Saskatchewan, collecting five goals and adding three assists.
Saskatchewan's midfield is anchored by Daniela Fuenzalida, Leanne Mylymok, and Jenna Newton, while rookie defender Meagan Manson – the daughter of former NHLer Dave Manson – started all 12 games in her first season with the Huskies.
Marissa Struik started nine of Saskatchewan's 12 games at keeper, ending up with a 6-3 record to go along with a 1.19 goals-against average and one shutout.
Coming into the fall, the U of R's best season was in 2010 when the Cougars collected a 5-7-2 conference record. That all changed thisyear, as the Cougars reeled off an 8-3-1 record to finish with 25 points. They also broke into the CIS Top Ten for the first time earlier this season, spending two weeks in the rankings before dropping out after losses to Trinity Western and UBC.
The Cougars are led by Meagan Cormier, who played all but four minutes of the entire conference schedule. The always-dangerous Cormier led Canada West with 60 attempted shots and tied for fifth in the conference with eight goals. Her offensive outputtrails only Jessica Waller's 10 goals (2002) in the University of Regina's single-season record book. Tayler Firth – the lone University of Regina player besides Cormier to start all 12 conference matches – finished second on the team with three goals, all of which were game-winning efforts.
Slick third-year midfielder Molly Glass has two goals and two assists this year while ranking second on the team behind Cormier in minutes played, while Jayde McFee also has a pair of goals this season.
Stephanie Possberg started nine of the team's 12 matches for the Cougars, and the third-year keeper collected a 7-2 record, a 0.67 goals-against average, and set a school single-season record with five shutouts.
The three other Canada West quarter-finals will have Trinity Western hosting Manitoba, UBC playing host to Alberta, and Victoria hostingFraser Valley.
