OLDS — Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams at the Olds College of Agriculture and Technology made it to the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) south playoffs Oct. 25.
But that’s where their seasons ended.
The women’s Broncos lost 2-1 to the SAIT Trojans in Calgary. The men were beaten 3-1 by the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings in Red Deer.
The Kings and Trojans will now compete at this weekend’s ACAC soccer championships, which will be hosted by the Lethbridge College Kodiaks in Raymond.
Kami Tams scored the lone goal for the women’s team and Valentin Kirchner scored the sole goal for the men.
The two teams switched coaching staffs.
Head coach Allan Siwela travelled to Red Deer with the men’s soccer Broncos, while assistant coach Devin Simon ran the sideline in Calgary.
The women’s soccer Broncos knew they faced an uphill challenge against the Trojans, who placed No. 15 in the final CCAA (Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association) women’s soccer rankings this season.
The Trojans swept both ends of the season series, handing the Broncos a 4-0 loss in Calgary on Oct. 16.
Tiona Paton of the women’s Broncos was expected to receive the lion’s share of SAIT’s defensive attention, due to her 16 goals (fourth in the ACAC).
Mirtalem Vriend (six goals) proved to be an excellent running mate up front.
The men’s matchup was a rematch from Oct. 22, when the Broncos settled for a 3-3 draw with the Kings. A win would have brought the play-in game to Olds.
The teams were deadlocked throughout the season, having also played to a 1-1 draw in Olds on Oct. 1.
Before the newest edition of the Battle of Central Alberta (the Oct. 25 playoff) Kirchner led the Broncos with seven goals.
However, Diego Forno found his form for Olds College in recent weeks, as he scored all five of his goals in the previous five matches.
An issue for the Broncos going into the playoffs was defence, as their 10 goals conceded in the regular season were the third-lowest mark in the ACAC.
This article, edited by the Albertan, was written by Geordie Carragher, the sports Information and Esports coordinator at the Olds College of Agriculture & Technology.
