Recap of the Griffins’ weekend of Sept. 15 

Ian Smyth

Photo of Grace Mwasalla by James Maclennan

It was a weekend of polar opposites for the Griffins’ soccer squads. Women’s soccer had a massive bounce-back weekend, while the men suffered a pair of rough losses.

Not a single goal was conceded by the women, as rookie keeper Carly Uchacz had a stellar nine-save performance in the Griffins’ 6-0 rout of the Regina Cougars. It marked the most saves by a rookie Griffins keeper in a decade. The Griffins also outshot the Cougars 12-9. It was their most complete showing, and the team looked refreshed and back to normal after a poor performance during their weekend in Calgary. Their form carried over into Sunday’s game against Saskatchewan, with a 1-0 win over the Huskies. Veteran Grace Mwasalla reached rarefied air, cracking the Canada West top 10 list for goals scored. It was a tight game, with both goaltenders finishing with five saves and a Huskies goal being dashed by the post. But, the Griffins got out with a win and capped off the six-point weekend. They look forward to this Saturday, when they host Mount Royal and the University of Calgary.

The men were not so lucky on their road trip to BC. UFV handled them 3-0 in the first game, pressing hard in the first half and never giving the Griffins a chance to create offence. It continues to be a problem for the Griffins men this season, holding them back from competing in many of these matches. And while they did outshoot the Cascades, they just couldn’t seem to find their scoring touch. But, they subverted this trend against Trinity Western, despite the loss. Felix Guite and Alain Sitchet both tallied a goal in the 3-2 defeat. Sitchet has played noticeably well in the past two games, finding form as a forward when the squad desperately needs it. The men look forward to hosting Thompson Rivers and UBC Okanagan this weekend.