IMPROVED PLAY GIVES VOYAGEURS HOPE DESPITE WEEKEND LOSSES
EDMONTON – At first glance, it doesn't look like progress. Six games in two regional tournaments, six losses, some by multiple goals. But progress is sometimes measured in small increments, in the little things that eventually lead to big breakthroughs. Macky Singh knows this very well; he saw it firsthand this past weekend at the 2nd Northeast Regional.
The head coach of the Portage College Voyageurs Women's Futsal squad watched his team get thumped 7-0 by host The King's University Eagles on Saturday afternoon but then rebound to play a tight evening game against Lakeland College before losing 2-0 and score twice in a 7-2 loss to perennial powerhouse Keyano College on Sunday. With new players on the roster, helping to compensate for injuries but also needing some time to adjust to ACAC futsal action, the Voyageurs started slowly but improved their play throughout the course of the weekend.
"It took a little time for them to click in the first game…After that, the team improved as they went along and you know, we definitely had more shots this round than we did last round so that was a huge difference as well," said Singh. "We were just unlucky to not get a couple of more goals…The ladies did well."
As he now turns his full attention to building his roster for next year's outdoor and futsal seasons, Singh knows he is at least not starting from scratch. Things have already improved immeasurably since he first arrived two years ago.
"We've got a good base, I think about nine or 10 are returning on the women's side so that's a good base to now build on and get a few more players in," he said. "Right now, I already have four new players coming in and we're working on getting a few more to come in so hopefully we'll get to 18-19 on the women's side. That's the hope…. But you know, the women's program has improved significantly over the course of the last couple of years."
Photo credit to Eagles Athletics
