Huskies one win away from claiming Canada West title at home
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| The Huskies celebrate their Canada West semifinal win. |
The dream season for the University
of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Soccer team marches on.
On Friday at PotashCorp Park, the
Huskies, who were hosting the Canada West final four tournament for the first
time ever, downed the University of Victoria Vikes 2-0 in a semifinal match
before a healthy gathering of spectators. With the win, the Huskies, who have
never won a Canada West championship, will host the University of Alberta
Golden Bears in the conference title game on Saturday at 2 p.m. at PotashCorp
Park.
For years, it seemed like a dream
would be the only way the Huskies would ever have a chance to win Canada West
title at home. This year’s powerhouse squad, which posted a program best 9-1-2
regular season record, is just one win from making that dream a reality.
Against the Vikes on Friday, the
Huskies pulled out a tight playoff contest by controlling possession of the
ball. Garrett Peters scored at the 23rd and at the 30th
minute to provide all the offence the home side would need. Michal Bandula
picked up the shutout victory in goal for the Huskies, while Noah Pawlowski
suffered the loss in goal for the Vikes.
The Golden Bears claimed the other
semifinal downing the defending national champions for the past two seasons the
University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 2-0. The bronze medal game between
the Vikes and Thunderbirds is set for 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Thunderbirds
beat the Huskies in last year’s Canada West title game.
During the regular season, the
Huskies won both their encounters with the Golden Bears, which were held at
PotashCorp Park. The Dogs claimed a 4-1 triumph on Oct. 3 and a 6-1 victory on
Oct. 5 .
Both the Huskies and the Golden
Bears will advance to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship
tournament, which will be hosted by the University of Prince Edward Island
Panthers from Nov. 6-9 in Charlottetown.
On Thursday, Huskies head coach
Bryce Chapman was named the Canada West coach of the year, while forward Luigi
Bekwayo was conference’s student-athlete community award recipient.
Centreback Jordian Farahani and
striker Brett Levis were named first team Canada West all-stars, while Bandula
and Bekwayo were named second team conference all-stars.
On the Huskies women’s soccer team,
striker Jenelle Zapski and defender Jennifer Miller were named Canada West
second team all-stars.
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