Both NAIT’s men’s and women’s soccer teams exited the first week of ACAC regular season play without a loss. The men earned a pair of wins, outscoring their opponents 11-1 over the two games while the women head into week two with a win and a tie on their schedule.
The men steamrolled the University of Augustana Vikings 7-0 on Saturday night. Midfielder Eseyas Yoannes and forwards Joseph Costouros and Bastian Carrasco each scored two goals in the game. Defenceman Matthew McLean also scored. Goalkeepers Tyler Larison and Norbert Janas shared the shutout in Game 1. Larison made four saves in the first half while Janas stopped two shots-on-goal in the second.
In their second game of the weekend, the men’s Ooks defeated the Con-cordia Thunder 4-1. Mid Sebastian Cabrera scored twice. Forward Matthew Zima and Midfielder Rodrigo Guitierrez also scored. Larison and Janas nearly recorded a second shutout against Concordia, with the Thunder’s lone marker coming off of Israel Olufuwa’s boot in the ninetieth minute.
This week’s matchups against Keyano College in Fort McMurray should prove to be a bigger challenge. The men’s Kodiaks went undefeated in Alberta last year, taking home the ACAC title.
Midfielder Kassy Jajczay’s hat-trick cemented the women’s 4-0 win over the Vikings on Saturday night, and she scored the Ooks’ lone tally in their 1-1 tie with Concordia on Sunday. Those goals put the third-year Emergency Management student in second-place league wide for scoring after week one. Marissa Webb scored the Ooks’ fourth goal on Saturday. Kailey Harder recorded the shutout.
The women will also head north to face the Kodiaks this weekend. The female Kodiak’s have something to prove after being hammered 13-1 over two games against Grande Prairie last week.
– Connor O’Donovan, Sports Editor
Image from NAIT Athletics
