Men's Soccer Huskies sweep Rustlers, rise to top of ACAC North for second time in three years

For the second time in three years, the Keyano Huskies Men’s Soccer team used a season-ending weekend sweep of the Lakeland Rustlers to claim the top spot in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference’s (ACAC) North Division.  
 
A 5-0 win Saturday and 6-0 win Sunday at home extended their winning streak to five and unbeaten streak to nine. With the results, the Huskies will advance to the semi-finals automatically and are guaranteed to play for a spot on the podium Sunday in Raymond, Alta.  

“I think that’s where we belong,” Head Coach Niels Slotboom said of claiming top spot in the ACAC North. “I think that’s where we should be this season based on how we’ve played and how the league has gone so far. I think this is the first weekend where we hit on all cylinders.  
 
“There’s still room for improvement, but it was nice to see that all the things we’ve been working on have come together this weekend.”  
 
Captain Dylan Stewart scored twice in Saturday’s win, which also featured goals from Mekai Lennox James, Faisal Karoyo, and Daniel Hudson. Stef Vullinghs helped to set up two goals while Casper Jaartsveld and Nizar Nejjam earn had a single assist.  
 
In what turned out to be his final ACAC Regular Season game, McMurrayite Corbin Cyprien set the bar with seven saves for his program leading 23rd win. The shutout was the 10th of his illustrious ACAC career.  
 
Sunday, it was Tano Torchia’s time to have a multi-goal game as he struck for the second and sixth goals of the game. James opened the scoring and Karoyo added his second of the weekend as the onslaught of goals continued in the first half.  
 
Goals from Casper Jaartsveld and Dylan Stewart’s third of the weekend closed out the five-goal first half before Torchia added the final goal in the second half.  

“Tano’s been amazing this season,” Slotboom added of the Kamloops, B.C. attacker. “He’s right on the ball with everything; he’s always been a sponge. This season especially, it’s all coming together where he’s learning new things and applying them instantly.  
 
“Every single week we’re adding layers to it so he’s only going to get better from here.”  

Jaiden McLaren stood tall between the pipes in Sunday’s win, his fourth win and fourth shutout of the 2025 season.  

With the conference down to its final six and the Huskies in another advantageous position, Slotboom hopes his student-athletes can model the consistency shown in their previous week of training leading up to the success against the Rustlers.  

“For the guys hopefully it’s the consistency of this week, consistency of the way that they applied themselves and the attention to detail,” Slotboom said. “If we do that, that’s where we control as much of our own fate as possible.  
 
“We need to see that on Saturday.”  
 
The Huskies’ journey at the 2025 ACAC Men’s Soccer Championship begins Saturday, October 25 against the winner of Friday’s quarter-final between The King’s University Eagles and Medicine Hat Rattlers. Kick-off is scheduled for 12:30pm.