Men's Soccer Huskies clinch playoff spot, keep focus on top spot in North

The Keyano Huskies Men’s Soccer team continued to gain steam last weekend as they crossed off one box to prolong their season. Experience has taught this group in many ways that they know the job is still far from done.  
 
“We had a goal right from the beginning, which was locking up top spot to get a favourable advantage in championships,” Head Coach Niels Slotboom said. “That’s still our goal. Our goal is still on Friday to beat King’s and on Sunday to beat Portage to lock up top spot in the North, which then gives us a bye into the semi-finals. 
 
“We haven’t reached our goal yet. That’s something that we’re going to make sure we’re focused on and execute on this weekend.”  
 
Last weekend, the Huskies took down The King’s University Eagles by a 4-0 score before topping the Concordia Thunder 6-0 to secure at least first or second in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference’s (ACAC) North Division.  
 
It marked their eighth win of the season, the fifth time they’ve accomplished that feat in their program’s history, with business still left to take care of this coming weekend.  
 
“The team took another step forward in the right direction,” Slotboom added. “[A] big improvement from some of the previous games, especially in some of the areas that we’ve been working on in the last few weeks.  
 
“We can start seeing the dots connect for the guys. As a result, we had two very dominant performances and a great weekend. With locking up playoffs, that’s just an extra bonus.”  
 
Saturday, the Huskies received a pair of goals from Hafid Arellano as well as single strikes from Michael Lungu and Joshua Fitzpatrick.  
 
Sunday, six different Huskies found the back of the net, started by a goal from Lungu in the 13th minute. From there, Shakir Mitha, Allan Soffo and Noah Coronado’s first ACAC goals, Arellano’s third goal of the weekend and a single strike by Kofi Boateng ensured the victory.  
 
Jaiden McLaren shut out the opposition in both games, marking the 11th time in program history that the Huskies recorded shutouts on back-to-back calendar days.  
 
Adding three goals and two assists over the pair of games, Arellano continued to shine bright for the Huskies, giving him six goals and nine assists on the season to lead the team and climb up the conference leaderboard. Slotboom said the leadership from the Lima, Peru product was showing through.  
 

“His maturity as a player and an individual is really starting to come through,” Slotboom said. “He’s got a real effect on our team and that’s something that you want from players.  
 
“He has the skill and everything else to back it up as well. In moments where we struggle, often he’s one of those sparks that gets us going again. We didn’t need a spark this weekend, but it was a full team effort.  
 
“He’s always around it and he’s always someone we can count on to be a catalyst for our team.”  
 
The Huskies will take to the pitch twice this weekend looking to secure the top spot in the North Division. Friday, they’ll take on The King’s University Eagles followed by a Sunday date against the Portage College Voyageurs.