We're entering a pivotal weekend for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's and women's soccer teams.
There figures to be plenty at stake on Sunday afternoon with both programs returning to their home pitch at Griffiths Stadium in Nutrien Park for their final matches of the 2021 regular season on Sunday.
On the men's side, Saskatchewan will get their weekend started in Edmonton on Friday afternoon in the first-half of a home-and-home with the Alberta Golden Bears, before the two programs meet up again in Saskatoon on Sunday.
There is still plenty to be decided in the central division. Saskatchewan is three-points behind Alberta for third in the division and just two points up on fifth-place MacEwan, who are on the Huskies' tail for the fourth-and-final playoff spot.
The Huskies are looking to stop the bleeding. After a successful start to the season, Saskatchewan is sliding, picking up just a single-point in their last four matches. They'll need to find form quickly this weekend in what will be a pivotal weekend series against an Alberta program who they've picked up at least a point against in four of their last five matches dating back to Oct. 1, 2017.
Should the Huskies make yet another postseason appearance under Bryce Chapman, a trip to the pacific looks likely for a Canada West quarter-final match against either the Victoria Vikes or UBC Thunderbirds. The pair of west-coast programs sit one-two in the west division with two matches remaining. Victoria holds a three-point advantage on UBC with the programs meeting up this weekend. But don't count out either the Trinity Western Spartans or Thompson Rivers WolfPack who each are lurking with 15 and 14 points respectively.
On the women's side, it's also a home-and-home for the Huskies, as they take on the Regina Cougars. Saskatchewan is looking to punch their ticket back to the postseason, as well as lock up first-place in the east division.
The Huskies currently sit two-points up on the second-place Cougars, while the Manitoba Bisons lurk chasing after a playoff spot of their own. The Bisons are only two points back of the Cougars and four points back of the Huskies, as they enter a weekend series against their cross-town rival Winnipeg Wesmen, who have an 0-9-2 record this season.
Since Jerson Barandica-Hamilton took over the program in 2014, the Huskies have handled the Cougars with relative ease, holding a 11-1-2 record over that span. That's a trend they'll be hoping they can continue this weekend as the program chases after their ninth-consecutive postseason appearance.
Footy Notes:
Bateman Cup: The Huskies men's team will take part in their annual Bateman Cup match on Sunday. The Bateman Cup was established in 2016 to honour veterans from the First World War from Saskatoon and was named after Reginald John Godfrey Bateman. Bateman, a former professor at uSask, was the university's captain of their soccer team before enlisting in the war in 1914.
The game is played each year against Alberta, who served as Saskatchewan's first-ever inter university soccer opponent, when they took the pitch against one-another in 1911.
Fifth-years: The Huskies women's team will honour their five fifth-year players during Sunday's contest, as Maya Gabruch, Taneil Gay, Kalli Cowles, Jadyn Steinhauer and Hannah Zdunich-Costa will play their final Canada West regular-season matches.
