Bears and Pandas Soccer mark a successful home opener weekend

The University of Alberta’s Golden Bears and Pandas Soccer teams’ seasons have opened at Foote Field. Both squads have finished this weekend with some promising points on the Canada West leaderboard.

Pandas show momentum being built as the weekend carries on

On Saturday, the Pandas were shut out by the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in a 3-0 loss. The Pandas fell short on turnovers and blocked shots. Goalkeeper Tessa Borelli stood strong between the posts despite the persistent efforts from the Huskies’ top performers Jenna Stacey and Nammi Nguyen. She held up strong, stopping eight of the 11 shots on goal.

Our offence had six shots, with four of them being on goal. Including two strong shots on goal by fifth-year Erin Hope after she came into the game as a substitute. The Pandas caught up in momentum during the last few minutes of play, but the whistle called the game over. 

Luckily, this momentum was seen on Sunday in their 1-0 win over the University of Regina Cougars. The Pandas held control of the ball throughout the game with 11 shots, three on goal. In comparison, the Cougars had two on goal out of a total of four shots.

The first period started strong with Hope’s goal in the 27th minute. The goal kick by Cougar keeper Peyton Magnuson turned into a battle for the ball, where Hope won and scored the game-winning goal with a top-corner finish. In addition to shots, the Pandas had eight corner kicks, with six in the second half. Brooklyn Schott took six of the corner kicks, with four of them being in quick succession to start the period. This is the first conference win for the Pandas as well as for the interim coach Bruno Zebie. 

The Pandas soccer team plays next weekend in Calgary against the University of Calgary and Mount Royal University. They return on September 19 against the MacEwan University Griffins at Foote Field. That game will precede another soccer match against the Griffins at Clarke Stadium.

Golden Bears finish the weekend with six goals and two wins

On Saturday, the Golden Bears counted their first conference win with a 3-0 shutout against the University of Calgary Dinos. The Dinos had possession for the majority of the first half, tying up the Bears on defence. This struggle for the ball led to close plays and strong feelings as both teams racked up yellow cards. With the pressure of added time before halftime, the Bears got wind beneath their feet. Giorgio Artunduaga scored with a top-shelf shot after a pass from Dylan Marple and a deke around the Dinos.

The Bears carried this momentum into the second half. Starting strong, the first play was a goal by Justin George off a corner kick by Prince Amanda. Alberta took hold further into the half as at a close battle at the Dinos’ net with goalkeeper Hany Shafie. Resulting in Justin George scoring his second goal of the game to reach the 3-0 final score. 

The Bears came back to the pitch on Sunday to face off against Mount Royal University Cougars. The Bears did not seem fazed by the defending Canada West champions. They started strong with three consecutive shots during the eighth minute. This impressive start was taken further with a goal by Giorgio Artunduaga as he took over the ball from the Cougars’ defence. A foul kick taken by Artunduaga allowed Thomas Hope to put a header in the net for Alberta’s second goal of the game.

Momentum from the Bears took a pause a few minutes later as Cougar Skyler Rogers scored. This impressive goal went past Alberta’s goalkeeper from along the goal line in the top right corner.

Five minutes into the second period, Alberta’s Prince Amanda completes a pass through three Cougars, allowing Caden Ruby to score. The remainder of the half doesn’t result in any goals, but the Bears make five shots while keeping the Cougars to only two shots. 

The Golden Bears will spend their next two weekends busy as they face Mount Royal again. Followed by games against the University of Saskatchewan, Lethbridge and Calgary before returning to Foote Field for more soccer on our home turf. They play against Trinity Western University on September 26 and the University of British Columbia on September 27.