Women's Soccer Huskies split road weekend with Ooks

It was splitsville for the Keyano Huskies Women’s Soccer team on their first road trip of the 2025 outdoor season following a win and a loss against the NAIT Ooks.  
 
That’s found them outside the playoff positioning – temporarily – and right in the middle of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) North Division.  

“It was definitely a weekend of two different results that we probably didn’t anticipate on both sides,” said Head Coach Niels Slotboom. “The first game, the girls did amazing. a very good execution of the game plan and got the result and was dominant.  
 
“It showed the quality of NAIT in the second game around where we didn’t execute on everything that they could flip the script on us just like that.”  
 
Friday’s result, a 4-1 win against the Ooks, featured a pair of goals from Nathalie Andersson as well as goals from Marissa Mestre and Aimee Menting. McMurrayite Sophia Patey earned her first point, an assist, in a Huskies uniform.  
 
“[It’s] a good learning curve for the team in the sense of ‘just because we did it one time doesn’t mean that automatically goes again,” Slotboom continued. “It’s a good learning moment, but overall a successful weekend to split with a team we’re in the chase with.”  
 
The volatile nature of the early season took the Huskies from first place on Friday to fourth by the end of the weekend. Even in defeat, Slotboom was encourage by the first quarter of the team’s season.  
 
“You always want to have every game won, but that’s not always realistic,” he said. “I think our team is in a good spot. Every single game we’ve been able to add new components to the way that we play and become a more well-rounded team.  
 
“It’s looking pretty good.”  
 
As for Andersson, the fifth year has already accounted for five of the team’s 12 goals. That has her second in the division, tied for third in the conference, and three off her career-best single season mark as the program looks to continue building around her.  

“It’s something that she’s been able to develop,” noted Slotboom of the consistency piece. “As a group, we’ve been able to build around that and we find her.  
 
“She could’ve had a few more on the weekend, but she’s hit the ground running. Hopefully there’s more coming.”  
 
The Huskies have a quick turnaround, hosting another team they’re chasing in the standings in the Concordia Thunder from Edmonton this coming weekend at SMS Equipment Place. Kick-off is scheduled for 2:00pm Saturday and 12:00pm Sunday with free admission for fans in both games.