Women’s futsal team takes the 2017 MCAC Championship

Jessica Worb, CONTRIBUTOR

The 2017 Women’s futsal team celebrates its second consecutive championship win on March 12. THE PROJECTOR/ Jessica Worb

With a 2-0 lead in the last two minutes of the women’s MCAC futsal championships, the Rebels were still far away from claiming the banner.

“The last two minutes of the game were the most intense,” explained Rebels goalie Brittany Derkacz. “They were really pressing on us to get a goal, to keep their fire alive”.

Futsal is a fast-paced game and goals can happen with seconds left, said Rebels coach Doug Lawrie.

“In futsal, a 2-0 lead is not safe, goals can come quickly,” he said. “In this game, the championship was not certain until that very last whistle.”

And when that coveted last whistle rang, the Rebels squad ran to celebrate with each other.

“The win felt unreal, “said Derkacz, who shutout a talented Canadian Mennonite University offence. “I felt like I played my best game, but obviously this wouldn’t have happened without the girls in front of me.”

After the celebration, Derkacz was presented with the MVP award, which she says was the proudest she has ever felt.

For her teammate, Emeraude Kwilu Nginda, 23, the championship meant something extra special.

“As a player, it means a lot. All of us want to win a championship at least once in our career. After moving here from Montreal, I waited eight years before playing soccer again. Since I’ve played with the Rebels, I’ve participated in five finals and have won four,” said Kwilu Nginda.

Many of the college’s futsal players also play on the Rebels’ soccer team. The women’s Rebels soccer and futsal teams won gold last season, but the soccer team lost a heartbreaking finals game this year after going undefeated in the regular season.

This year’s futsal championship was due to the hard work of all the players, said Lawrie.

“Ultimately, this championship was a deep team effort. Nothing less would have won it,” said Lawrie.

Next year, the team will be losing a few of their star players.

With that in mind, coach Lawrie is looking forward for what is to come.

“We are excited about the future— we’re already recruiting for soccer season 2017,” he said.

More information about the 2017 soccer season is up on http://blogs.rrc. ca/rebels/sports/womens-soccer/.