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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Zach Bartel: September's Zueike Male Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to Zach Bartel of Men's Soccer on being selected the CMU Zueike Male Athlete of the Month for September. The second year goalkeeper has seen a lot of action throughout the first month of the MCAC season and has grown immensely as a player since his debut last year.
Through the first six games of the season, Bartel has faced more shots than any other keeper in the league, and has managed to keep his Blazers in the game on several occasions, most notably in two close losses to the St Boniface Rouges, who were at the top of the MCAC standings at the time. An 0-2 loss in their second game of the season was a barn-burner of an affair that remained tied at zeros late into the second half when the St Boniface side was finally able to break the seal and potted two late goals to take full points from the match. The lone true home game of the season so far, the Blazers are looking forward to a stretch of home games in the second half that will hopefully bring about more successful outcomes as the playoff push continues.
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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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