Women's Soccer Huskies surge to claim ACAC Bronze in Grande Prairie

From the trepidation about potentially missing the playoffs entirely to appearing on the podium in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women’s Soccer, it was a wild nine days for the Keyano Huskies.  

From a dramatic 2-1 comeback on October 18 against The King’s University Eagles that would eventually prolong their season to a 5-1 goal explosion against the Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks, the Huskies righted the ship at the right time in their last two weekends, which included conceding just three goals in 300 minutes of action at the most important time of the season.

“Any time you’re placing in the top of your province, I feel like that’s a success,” Head Coach Tiffany Fontaine said. “The goal is always to achieve higher. We came out and focused on the day.  

“We feel pretty great being able to be in the top three in Alberta.”  
 
That 5-1 result Friday moved the Huskies into the semi-finals Saturday, where they’d lose in a 1-0 added extra-time heartbreaker against the SAIT Trojans. With the loss still fresh, the Huskies recovered to earn an ACAC Bronze Medal with a 4-1 win against the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens Sunday.  
 
“It definitely was heartbreaking to be that close,” Fontaine said of the result against the Trojans, which featured a goal by SAIT in the 117th minute. “People needed time; that was the most important thing to recognize that we needed time to left that hurt. You don’t want to let go of the possibility of still medaling because you’re stuck in what did happen.  
 
“It was important to reset. It took us a little bit, even in that morning to shake it off and the competitors came out, which is one of things I’ve been really proud of with this group.”

For a team loaded with nine graduating players at varying years of eligibility but focused on one last run together on the pitch, there’s a pain in knowing the team couldn’t stand on the top of the podium together. In another sense, there’s a pride to take in terms of what was accomplished and of course winning their final game together with the Huskies.  

 “I hope they take that no individual won this and that was a big success we felt is that we did this as a team,” Fontaine continued. “I hope they take a lot of memories. I hope those building blocks remain with the freshman and the foundation that’s going to be building the next group.”  

There is always the creeping thought of what-if in these situations. 
 
The ACAC’s Championship was eventually hoisted by the Concordia Thunder, a team the Huskies had lost to twice by 2-1 scores in the course of Keyano going 8-3-1 in the regular season. It’s easy to think how the Huskies may have had a different outcome if they had won those two games.  
 
But instead, it’s important to consider the journey.
 
For what it’s worth, the Thunder completed their own journey that had been going on since 2011 after back-to-back Championships where they consistently finished second, third, or fourth before ascending to the Gold Medal spot this year.  
 
The Huskies have come a long way from the program they used to be, but there’s no shame in acknowledging that it requires just a little bit more time to get to that ultimate goal, which will become a responsibility for the next leadership group to work towards.  

Whether they came from across the bridge in Fort McMurray, throughout Alberta, southern Ontario, or from Sweden, the Netherlands, and California, this year’s current group added their own signature to what is a special era for the Women’s Soccer Huskies.
 
Yes, it would mean more with an outdoor Championship in their trophy cabinet, but gone are the days when you’d have to scroll down to find the offensive and defensive statistical leaders among the ACAC’s best.
 
Also gone are the days when the Huskies might have none or just a single representative on the All-Conference team. This year, five Huskies made the exclusive list of the ACAC’s best, the most of any ACAC Women’s Soccer program this season.

That quintet included Anke Wijnbergen, who also earned a spot on the Tournament All-Star team.  
 
“She’s always been strong in her position, but she ’s learned the formation and the tactics and she’s been getting that better chemistry with all of her team including her back line,” Fontaine said of the Leeuwarden, Netherlands product. “This weekend, we were able to identify those key players and she stepped up every time we’ve asked her to focus on somebody.  
 
”She made sure they were taken care of and consistent the whole weekend.”