Trojans blank Broncos, punch ticket to ACAC Championship
OLDS, ALTA., (Oct. 19, 2019) — The SAIT Trojans women's soccer team didn't need any help. They took care of business themselves.
At one point the second last team in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) South Division, the SAIT Trojans won five straight games to end the regular season as the division's No. 2 seed going into the Conference Championship next week in Edmonton, Alta. The final win came Sunday, as they leapfrogged Olds College thanks to a 3-0 win over them in Olds, Alta.
"A few weeks ago, if you would have told me that's how things were going to end, I'm not sure I would have believed you," said an elated Trojans head coach John Talerico. "But you know, our confidence just grew and grew minute by minute. They now believe they can go far because we have played so well down the stretch. To get in was sweet, and to get the second seed by beating Olds at home was even more sweeter."
SAIT finishes the regular season with a 7-3-2 mark. Olds College will grab the third and final playoff spot from the South with a 7-4-1 record.
As the second seed, SAIT will now meet the North Division's third seed, King's University, in a quarter-final matchup to see who will move on. King's finished the regular season with a 5-5-2 record.
"Anything's possible, and we have nothing to lose," Talerico replied when asked about his thoughts on the Conference Championship. "We're approaching it like we did today's game – as warriors. Like I said, I truly believe we can go far and the girls understand that as well."
In Sunday's game, the first half saw chances by both teams early on, but it was SAIT who finally found the back of the net when Jaime McPherson (2nd year, Fort St. John, BC, Medical Radiologic Technology) beat Olds keeper Kathleen Andres along the ground to put her team up 1-0.
On the other side of the field, rookie keeper Stine Thorne (1st year, Calgary, Nutrition for Healthy Lifestyles) made key saves early to keep the Broncos off the board.
It was the third straight start for Thorne, and third straight shutout.
"For a rookie to come in at this part of the season and play goal the way she has, has been pretty remarkable," Talerico stated. "Sometimes, she looks too casual out there, but she's been fantastic in the back. We challenged her today to be more vocal and she did that and helped out our back line."
In the second half, Trojans rookie standout Jade Metz (1st year, Calgary, Bachelor of Business Administration) added two insurance goals to close out her first season of ACAC play with an amazing 13 goals.
SAIT's quarter-final matchup with King's will be played Friday morning at 11am at Emerald Hills Regional Park.