SASKATOON, Sask. - This weekend marks the first official postseason action for Huskie Athletics, with three teams and two programs in action on Saturday, October 26, 2024.
CROSS COUNTRY
Canada West Championship
Saturday, October 26, 2024 - 12:00 PM (M), 1:00 PM (W)
Stoney Creek Centre | Camrose, Alta.
RESULTS |
RACE INFO
This Saturday the Huskie women's cross country team is looking to extend their streak of 3rd-place finishes at the Canada West championships which dates back to the 2019 season. Unfortunately for the Huskies that streak may be in jeopardy due to injuries to key runners which have impacted their training, forcing them to be race-time decisions. Despite the injuries, the Huskies still have hope thanks to standout runners
Kaitlyn Harrison and
Jenica Swartz who are set to lead the women's team. Harrison, a constant threat to get on the podium, experienced a strong season featuring a 1st-place finish at the Dakota Classic and 4th-place finish at the Stewart Cup. Given the course's aggressiveness, Saskatchewan coaches are confident she can be a challenger at the front of the pack. Swartz meanwhile, has also had a strong season with 2nd-place (Dakota Classic) and 10th-place (Stewart Cup) finishes and is looking to build off of her all-star status last year.
Meanwhile the USask men's cross country team is looking to return to the podium for the first time since 2002. The Dogs have been close the last few seasons, earning back-to-back 4th-place finishes, and believe this year they have the team to do it. The team is led by an impressive trio of runners in
Anthony Antaya,
Quincy Fast, and
Alexander Webster, who have all run extremely well this season. Most recently Fast finished 9th at the Stewart Cup with Webster right behind him in 10th. With the trio entering Saturday in peak form, Huskie coaches are optimistic about the potential to see all three finish in the Top 14 as Canada West All-Stars. However, the team podium position is the ultimate goal for this group and runners
Kaiden Deck,
Jacob White,
Jayvin Cross Child, and Finley Cross Child will also need to perform for the team to achieve that goal.
"The Canada West Championships are always an extremely competitive race given the strength of the conference," said head coach
Jason Reindl. "The men's team is going into this race excited and eager to get back on the podium (bronze in 2002). With
Anthony Antaya,
Quincy Fast, and Alex Webster all running extremely well, we are just going to stick to our race plan. On the women's front, our women's team continues to be lead by last year's conference all-stars
Kaitlyn Harrison and
Jenica Swartz, and we will be counting on them to be our low sticks. The Camrose course is aggressive and difficult and we have been preparing with it in mind all season so it'll be awesome to watch."
The 2024 Canada West Cross Country Championships get underway at 12 PM on Saturday with the men's race set to kick things off. The women will then head to the course for a 1 PM start time.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Canada West Quarterfinal
Saturday, October 26, 2024 - 6:00 PM
Centennial Stadium | Victoria, B.C.
Saskatchewan Huskies (Prairie No. 3-seed) @ uVic Vikes (Pacific No. 2-seed)
This weekend the University of Saskatchewan Huskie women's soccer team will face a familiar foe from the Pacific Division in the Canada West quarterfinals as they take on the No. 2-seeded University of Victoria Vikes in British Columbia. The last time the two teams met was just last season in the Canada West bronze medal game, which saw the Dogs earn the conference's final podium position with a 4-2 penalty shoot-out win. With both teams having returned the majority of their rosters for the 2024 season, Saturday's quarterfinal is sure to be another tightly-contested match against two premier programs in the conference.
The 2024 regular season saw the Huskies finish the campaign with a 7-2-5 record, identical to their playoff opponent, thanks to one of the most productive offences and reliable defences in the conference. The Dogs finished 4th in scoring with 35 goals on the season while allowing the 2nd fewest with just nine against in 14 games. Despite closing out the year with a fewer points than in 2023, Saskatchewan saw improved production across the board with a 20% increase in offense (28 to 35 goals for) and 25% decrease in goals allowed (12 to 9).
"We are very excited for Saturday's quarterfinal match," said head coach
Jerson Barandica-Hamilton, who has led the Huskies to the postseason in every season since taking over the program in 2014. "It's always exciting playing at this time of year where you have something to go out and compete for. We've had a great year from a performance standpoint and despite dropping a couple points we would have liked to have, the team is only getting better and I believe we're peaking at the right time. We're healthy, thanks in large to our depth being able to keep us fresh, and motivated to go there and get the job done. This group also has a lot of positive momentum behind them and believe that there isn't a team in the conference they can't go up against. It doesn't matter who we're playing, we're just going to go for it."
The Huskies are led by standout goalscorer
Alyssa D'Agnone who leads the team and ranks 3rd in the conference with nine goals on the season. D'Agnone is followed closely by teammates
Marie Kilcher who totaled nine points (5 G, 4 A) and
Madison Mayert who closed out the season with eight (3 G, 5 A). In net, the Vikes will have to get by goalkeeper
Kalin Roberts who has experienced an exceptional season, posting a save percentage of .845 while recording four clean sheets in eleven games. In their opponent, the Dogs will look to limit Ruby Nicholas, the Vikes leading scorer with eight goals and six assists on the season.
This will mark the 12th consecutive season in which the Saskatchewan Huskie women's soccer team has participated in the Canada West postseason, dating back to the 2012-13 season.
2024 Regular Season Stats
|
Saskatchewan |
Victoria |
| GF |
35 (4th) |
28 (6th) |
| GA |
9 (2nd) |
18 (7th) |
| Points |
96 (4th) |
76 (6th) |
| Shots/G |
17.6 (4th) |
12.1 (10th) |
| Saves |
57 (8th) |
51 (13th) |
