Women's Soccer News
Blazers Bow Out Early in Championship Run
The Blazers soccer teams arrived in Brandon on Saturday morning hoping for an extended stay in the Wheat City where the MCAC Soccer Championships were being held, but a deep title run was not in the cards for either team this season as both squads failed to produce the semi-final upsets needed to make a finals appearance.
The Blazer men kicked off the day's games playing the top-ranked Brandon Bobcats on their home field, a game that had originally been scheduled on neutral turf at the Brandon Sportsplex, where ACC was supposed to be hosting the first versus fourth seed games. The Bobcats took full advantage of their familiar field, launching an early counter-attack resulting in a goal which sent the Blazers reeling and chasing the remainder of the game. Clearly both sides had not forgotten their hotly contested clash last weekend when both goalkeeper Zach Bartel, and defender Matthew Pahl were sent off with red cards. Bartel was back in the Blazers' net after serving his one-game suspension, while Pahl was given a two-game suspension for his in-game altercation, which carried over into the semi-final.
Overall, the Blazers defended quite well after their early blunder, with MCAC All-Conference selection Noah Schindel working his magic at the back, and captain Matheus Aquino, also an MCAC All-Conference award-winner, leading the attack. However, CMU was up against the conference leader in goals in Brandon's Camilo Rodriguez, and it was apparent that his level of talent and recognition afforded him additional leniency with the officials, who tallied seven fouls for the attacking forward, but refused to pull out the cards for the home side. Several great chances off of set plays by the Bobcats in the second half came up empty, due to solid play by graduates Zach Bartel in goal and defender Gode Katembo, who was heroic in his challenges against Rodriguez. Nevertheless, the referees awarded a penalty to the home side on a seemingly harmless bit of defending by the Blazers, which resulted in the Bobcats' second goal and the back-breaker for the CMU side. Noah Schindel was named as CMU's player of the match for his fantastic defensive effort on the day.
Blazers Soccer Slide into Playoffs as Underdogs
The Blazers Athletics Soccer Teams finished up their MCAC regular season matches this past weekend, which included semi-finals previews on Saturday for the men's squad, and on Sunday for the women's squad. Both teams will be underdogs in their matches this coming weekend in Brandon going into the championship round as fourth seeds.
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Big Weekend for Blazers Soccer as the Drive for Playoffs Continues
Last weekend's soccer matchup with the ACC Cougars may have been billed as a CCAA marquee matchup, but this Sunday's rematch on Assiniboine's home turf proved to be the real climax of the season thus far, and a potential turning point as the men's and women's team make a drive for playoff positioning.
Coming off a stretch of three games in only five days concluding last weekend, the Blazers had a well-deserved light weekend with only the one match scheduled on Sunday; a final meeting of the season with the Cougars that would prove to be the decider of the season series on the men's side. Prior to kickoff the Blazers trailed the Cougars for the final playoff spot by one point on the table, with both previous meetings ending in draws that saw neither side able to break away and earn full points. As in the standings, the Blazers trailed first in the game, with ACC's star Daniel Lopez scoring the first goal of what could only be described as a very hotly contested match, with several heated exchanges occurring throughout and after the final whistle. Sophomore midfielder Micheal Ladell was able to draw the Blazers back even shortly before halftime. With cards flying of all colours, CMU's Matheus Dos Anjos Aquino netted another for the Blazers pulling the green and gold ahead for good, giving them the essential full points on the day which allowed them to leapfrog the Cougars in the MCAC standings with only two games remaining. Each team was awarded at least six cards through ninety minutes, including three reds to ACC, which could greatly affect their ability to pushback for points needed to catch the Blazers.
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Ayesha Umar: September's Zueike Female Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to Ayesha Umar of Women's Soccer on being selected the CMU Zueike Female Athlete of the Month for September. The second year midfielder has brought a talented boot to the pitch this season, scoring two critical goals in the Blazers' two wins on the season thus far.
In a season where the Blazers have struggled to find the back of the opponent's net on several occasions, Umar has come up clutch with the two game-winning goals in the Blazers' two wins at the halway point of the season. On a drizzly day out at Sturgeon Road Field, Umar was able to extend the Blazers' early lead over the visiting Assiniboine College Cougars with a slick low-corner strike off the dribble that stood as the game-winner in the team's 2-1 victory, marking the squad's first goals and points on the campaign. Then, in a tightly contested match at the home of the Brandon Bobcats this last Sunday, Umar showed her range of scoring talent, potting the lone goal of the match on a free kick strike from distance that landed perfectly in the top-corner out of reach of the Bobcats' keeper, a goal that could only be described as highlight reel material which had her fans throwing out mentions of "Messi" and "The GOAT" to describe the marker.
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Slow Start to September has the Blazers Chasing for Playoff Positioning
It has been a September to forget on most accounts for the Blazers as both the women's and men's soccer squads have struggled coming out of the gate. A road-heavy start to the season that has seen the teams play only one match at the Ralph, along with one home match at Sturgeon Road Field which has certainly factored into the slow start.
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