The Bisons women’s soccer program has been remarkably interesting to follow over the past years. One reason being that in the past three years, the team has had three different head coaches: Vanessa Martinez Lagunas, Mark Colvin and Fabio Capone.
Coming to the current season, the herd has played eight games, out of which they have won one, tied two and lost five.
This week the Bisons played against the MacEwan Griffins twice, with the first game being a tie 1-1, and the herd losing the second game 2-1.
On Sunday, when the herd lost the game, there were flashes of brilliance from the squad, especially in the second half. In the first half, the Griffins’ offence was lethal initially due to the link up between Hannah Corrigan, Lillie Pearson and Ally Tannas.
Two minutes into the game, Tannas received the ball and held onto possession before lofting it forward. Pearson raced down the left-wing, using physicality to win the ball before calmly slotting it past the goalkeeper with a soft touch into the bottom corner.
The Griffins did not stop with a one-goal lead, and before the Bisons could tie the score, the Griffins had fired multiple shots at the herd’s goalpost. Around the 12-minute mark, Tannas once again launched the ball forward down the left side. Paige Colby raced past a Bison defender, showing control over the ball, slowed the pace and blasted the ball into the back of the net to extend the Griffins’ lead.
With the Griffins holding a two-goal lead, Griffins’ head coach Dean Cordeiro decided to substitute Corrigan. “It was all just about Hannah returning,” he said, explaining that Corrigan had been coming off an injury. He added, “We were just watching minutes, so we had a predetermined plan. We talked with Hannah, ‘You’re going to start, we need you to help us generate that offence,’ which she did.”
Replacing Corrigan was Ivy Kunn, who took on a more supportive role on the wing instead of playing an attacking winger to help with the ball rotation in the midfield. “Ivy came in and did a tremendous job for us,” Cordeiro said.
In this game, it was not that the herd were outclassed by the Griffins. Rather, the Griffins’ system, particularly in the initial stages, yielded results which gave them the two-goal lead. From there, the Griffins were able to switch to a possession-orientated play.
The Bisons had not given up just yet. Three minutes into the second half, the herd had a freekick, and Bianca Cavalcanti lined up to take it. In a moment of pure magic, the ball hit the cross bar and bounced off the ground. As the Griffins were busy trying to clear the ball, the herd had already begun celebrating. The goal stood and the game ended 2-1.
With six more games scheduled for the Bisons, it will be interesting to see if the system coach Capone is trying to implement will yield better results.
Cordeiro did not pass on the chance to give credit to the Bisons head coach. “He’s [Capone] done a tremendous job, he had them playing really well.”
The Bisons women’s soccer team will next play the Alberta Pandas on Oct. 3 and 4 at the Princess Auto Stadium.
