LACK OF SCORING COSTS VOYAGEURS SHOT AT ACAC CHAMPIONSHIP BERTH
EDMONTON – The Portage College Voyageurs needed Obi-Wan Kenobi on their futsal team this past weekend because the force was definitely not on their side.
The men's squad entered the 2nd Northeast Regional with a 1-2 record and a chance at a wildcard berth in the ACAC championships in March but injuries, some defensive errors, and an inability to score cost the team a shot at the post-season. By the time the weekend was over, they'd lost all three of their matches – 5-2 to host The King's University, 8-4 to Lakeland College and 4-1 to Keyano College – and returned home empty-handed.
It wasn't for a lack of trying or a lack of chances for that matter. The Voyageurs outshot their opponents in all three contests – significantly in at least two of them – but couldn't capitalize on their chances.
"The amount of chances we hand, it just looked like there was a force field in front of the goal or something like that the whole weekend…I think that was our biggest challenge. We just couldn't get the balls in the net," said Head Coach Macky Singh. "We had a lot of shots but just didn't seem to get the balls in."
Ironically, for a team that had trouble finding the back of the net, the Voyageurs managed to score first in two of the three games, including one off the opening whistle.
"I think we literally scored off the kickoff," said Singh. "I didn't even see the goal, I was sitting down and the ball was already in the net. But we just couldn't hold it, hold on long enough to get the game going."
Some defensive breakdowns at inopportune moments and injuries to Patrick Moreira and Johann Bohard (suffered prior to the weekend's action) didn't help matters.
"We lost Patrick and Johann who were pretty instrumental in our first round and that made a huge difference," said Singh.
While the players will continue to train throughout March, the Voyageurs season is essentially over. It's not over for the head coach, though, who is already busily recruiting players for next season's soccer and futsal squads. Singh has his work cut out for him, with most current players moving on after this season.
"It's a total rebuild," he said. "I have seven players returning so it will be total rebuild so I'm working on recruits right now. It takes time…Hopefully we'll quickly sign a few soon. Hopefully by the end of February, early March I'll have a good idea of where we're at."
photo credit to Huskies Athletics