The Canada West women's soccer season is just around the corner and after a productive training camp, the Huskies headed to Alberta for pre-season games against the Lethbridge Pronghorns and Calgary Dinos.
"This weekend was a very good platform for us to give minutes to all of our players and continue to evaluate who the best partnerships will be in preparation for our season openers next week," said Huskie head coach
Jerson Barandica-Hamilton. "We got some great glimpses into what this team's potential can be and also learned some valuable lessons on what areas we need to keep improving on."
Saturday, August 19 saw the Huskies take on the Lethbridge Pronghorns. The Pronghorns posted a 2-10-2 Canada West record in 2022 and were up against the 7-4-3 Huskies. The Huskies continued to be the stronger team of the two as they rallied to a 4-1 pre-season win.
The first goal of the game would belong to
Alyssa D'Agnone in the thirtieth minute. Their lead would increase to 2-0 thanks to
Taryn Izsak, who would nab the second goal with a beautiful header. The Pronghorns added their only goal of the game shortly after, bringing the game within reach at 2-1 Huskies.
The Huskies would extend their lead 3-1, thanks to rookie
Madison Mayert, who would grab her first goal as a Huskie with assists from
Cheyenne Lehmann and
Danica Gravel. Her second goal as a Huskie came with an assist from Caitlyn Stove, and Saskatchewan would take the win 4-1.
"A few standout performances came from our rookies in
Madison Mayert, who was always threatening the opponents on the back line," said Barandica-Hamilton. "
Jenna Steacy was a stable and reliable fullback in and out of possession. I was quite impressed with second year
Cheyenne Lehmann, who worked extremely hard and brought good energy all weekend."
Riding high on a great team performance against Lethbridge, the pre-season tune-up weekend would continue Sunday, August 20 against the Calgary Dinos, who had a 9-3-2 record in Canada West in 2022. It would be a very different game as Saskatchewan struggled offensively against the Dinos and were unable to find the net as Calgary cruised to a 5-0 win.
"We now will turn our focus to next weekend and our season openers in Edmonton. The team is excited to get this season started and we are looking forward to seeing them come together as a team."
The 2023 Canada West regular season opens for the Huskie women's soccer team on the road as they head back to Alberta. Saturday, August 26 will see them take on the MacEwan Griffins at 12:00 PM at Clarke Stadium in Edmonton, followed by a match up against the Alberta Pandas on Sunday, August 27 at 12:00 at Foote Field. Games can be streamed live on CanadaWest.TV.
