The Olds College Broncos suffered through a tough weekend in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference soccer play, losing all four games they played. The men were defeated 3-1 by the Red Deer College Kings on Sept. 15 on their home field while on Sept.
The Olds College Broncos suffered through a tough weekend in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference soccer play, losing all four games they played.
The men were defeated 3-1 by the Red Deer College Kings on Sept. 15 on their home field while on Sept. 14 they were beaten 6-0 by the Lakeland College Rustlers in Lloydminster. The women lost 1-0 in extra time to the Red Deer College Queens and lost 6-0 to the Rustlers.
The men were down 2-0 at the half against the Kings and after a third goal by Red Deer, Jose Gutieerez got the Broncos on the board late in the game. It was the team’s first goal in four games this season.
Humberto Aspillaga, head coach for the Broncos, said the goal managed to give the Broncos some momentum and should have resulted in at least one more goal.
"We’re growing and the soccer program is getting better and better. We were giving competition to Red Deer and Red Deer was an excellent team and they came here to win, but we didn’t make it easy for them," he said.
Aspillaga said although the game against the Rustlers was a tough one, he was encouraged that with every game the players are gaining more experience.
"It was a tough game but every single day we are improving. It’s a big improvement (against the Kings). It wasn’t that they dominated. We made some changes and we showed that when you come to Olds to play, we will work hard and give it everything we have," he said.
The women’s team coach, Mark Oxer, said the team continues to struggle with having to substitute players in and out of the lineup due to injury. On Sept. 14 in Lloydminster three more players were either out of the lineup or couldn’t complete the game. Those three players, however, were able to play against the Queens.
"I think the girls played well (on Sept. 15). We bounced back from a tough game in (Lloydminster). Came out, played well defensively (against the Queens). We struggled a bit going forward, but I think we at least deserved a draw, and to have to lose 1-0 in extra time was really tough," he said.
Due to the injury situation against the Rustlers, the Broncos finished the game with only 10 players on the field instead of the usual 11.
With the injury situation, Oxer said some members of the team are playing positions they aren’t familiar with, but are still doing a good job.
The Broncos will be back in action this weekend, with games in Medicine Hat against the Rattlers on Sept. 21 and at home against the Lethbridge Community College Kodiaks on Sept. 22. Both teams will be looking for their first wins of the season.
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