Men's Soccer Huskies focused on process as challenge to repeat looms
Winning three-straight Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Championships has done wonders for the confidence and aura of the Keyano Huskies Men’s Soccer & Futsal program.
Make no mistake though; the celebratory spirit has now been neatly tucked away in their overflowing trophy cabinet for another fall. With the 2024-25 outdoor season set to begin Saturday in Edmonton, the Huskies consider the calendar turned over and ready for the challenge of the title defence.
“Every year is like a new year,” noted Jacob Marshall. “We just try and stay calm and work hard in preseason.
“The goal is to start from the beginning and prove that we’re one of the best teams in Canada and hopefully this year even bigger expectations to try and show that at a national level and win a national medal.”
While their indoor season ended with a win, the outdoor season featured a renewed high, followed by a bitter result in southern Ontario. From the elation of that comeback and penalty-kick victory against the NAIT Ooks in Edmonton in late October to two defeats at the hands of the St. Clair Saints in Windsor, Ont., with the second keeping them off the CCAA podium.
“We’re focused on something bigger, but we’re not overlooking the steps in-between to get there,” said Head Coach Niels Slotboom, who is more than ready for the team to get the best effort from each team they face.
“We never get anybody that’s off their game,” he added. “Everybody’s always fully motivated and I’m sure that target has only gotten gradually bigger after three-consecutive championships.
“For soccer, that won’t be any different. It’s important for us to not look past this. I know our sights are set on not just an ACAC title, but doing better at nationals than what we did last year. We’re very conscious of the fact that we can’t skip over the fact that we’re probably in the strongest conference across the country. We’ve got a lot of work to do to get to that.”
They’ll face an immediate test in The King’s University Eagles, a side eager to avenge last October’s semi-final matchup that also ended in penalty kicks in the Huskies’ favour.
All the extra time, extra kicks, and extra miles this team has travelled to get to the top hammer home the ruthlessness of ACAC Men’s Soccer. While the Huskies took three long seasons to get to the top under Slotboom, the divide between success and failure in the end was razor thin and they’ll need to bring their best once again.
“It’s to keep reminding them of what made them successful,” Slotboom continued. “The fact that whatever adversity gets thrown at us we don’t really fold and continue to do what we do best.
“We stick to the process and that’s the biggest thing that the returning players have to pass on to the new players that that’s the expectation.”
That process will be led by a cast of usual suspects, including Marshall, Cleisson Anklam, Hafid Arellano, Joshua Fitzpatrick, Aaron Ernst, and hometown goalkeeper Corbin Cyprien. Second years like Tano Torchia and Ben Odd will also be pressed to lead this year's crop of rookies.
“Just making them feel comfortable as part of this family and then after that guiding them into being a strong part of this team,” Marshall said of the process to integrate the rookies into the expectation level for their side. “Along with the leadership and returning players we have, it’s a good group to hopefully go far.”
The Huskies open the season Saturday in Edmonton against The King’s University Eagles and continue the season Sunday against the Concordia Universiy of Edmonton Thunder.