The Bisons women’s soccer team lost 1-3 to the Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday, Sept. 19 at the Princess Auto Stadium.
Four minutes into the game [4:36] Bisons’ Bianca Cavalcanti had an early shot on goal, but Huskies goalie Kalin Roberts made the save.
The Huskies scored their first goal in the 13th minute [13:19], with Danielle Lehmann finding the net, assisted by Nammi Nguyen.
In the 19th minute [19:36] Breyanna Johnston-Krulicki fired a shot for the Bisons, but her effort was denied by goalie Roberts.
Taryn Cabak attempted a header shot for the Bisons, but it went wide in the 24th minute [24:27].
The Bisons pushed for an equalizer late in the first half, earning a corner kick in the 44th minute [44:55] by Johnston-Krulicki. However, the Huskies held their ground and went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
The Huskies extended their lead in the 51st minute [51:16] when Isabelle Lachance scored, assisted by Cassidy Vieira. The lead was extended to 3-0 in the 72nd minute [72:31] with a goal from Daraida Sutherland.
The Bisons got on the scoreboard in the 81st minute [81:27] with a goal by Alexandria Paul, but it was not enough to spark a comeback.
The Huskies maintained control in the closing minutes to seal a 3-1 victory.
The Bisons women’s soccer team were defeated 1-2 by the Saskatchewan Huskies in the second game on Saturday, Sept. 20 at the Princess Auto Stadium.
Both teams had promising chances in the first half, but neither was able to capitalize, and the half ended goalless.
In the 64th minute [64:41], the Huskies went up 1-0 through Alyssa D’Agnone, assisted by Jenna Steacy.
The Huskies doubled their lead in the 84th minute [84:37] as Marie Kilcher scored, with an assist from Nguyen.
The Bisons responded late, as Isabella Lone scored in the 87th minute [87:13], cutting the deficit to 2-1.
The Huskies held on for a 2-1 win.
Bisons women’s soccer head coach Mark Colvin provided his thoughts on the game. “I think Saskatchewan is a really good team,” said Colvin. “What they do so well is […] controlling space. They turn one attack into two or three just by controlling the territory. Honestly, between the two games, I thought our defending low was really good. It was just tough for us at times to get some territory and establish our attack. But again, from a defending standpoint, I thought we did a great job defending low on set pieces. [We] conceded three corner kick goals over the course of the weekend and our corner kicks and set pieces have been a strength for us all year. It’s something that we work on and we’re confident in execution.”
Colvin outlined some strengths of his team. “Our team consistently […] show such great fight and determination in the chase, creating one or two good goal scoring opportunities at the end of the game.” He added one strategy is establishing an “attack earlier.”
“We’re really chasing to score the first goal in the game and forcing our opponent to chase and for us to focus on our closing strategy,” Colvin added.
He expressed appreciation for the warm reception and support the team received at the Princess Auto Stadium. “This past weekend [at Princess Auto], I think we had an awesome supporting group and so many people at Winnipeg and at our school behind us. It was awesome to see […] the amount of passion that our supporters showed for the team.”
In Prairie league standings, the Bisons have one point, with one draw and seven losses.
The Bisons women’s soccer team will play the Calgary Dinos on Friday, Sept. 26 and Saturday, Sept. 27 in Calgary, Alberta.
