RRC men’s and women’s soccer teams kick off the 2019 season strong
By Jake Maurice
Rebels Men’s Soccer Team Doubles Up ACC Cougars
The Rebel’s men’s soccer team rode a dominant first half to a 4-2 victory over the ACC Cougars on Saturday at the Norm Konowalchuk Soccer Fields. Due to the Cougars not having enough eligible players, the game officially resulted in a 1-0 forfeit win for RRC.
The team scored four goals in the first half, including two in a two-minute span. Striker Eric Harder scored the first three goals at the 17th, 24th, and 42nd minute. It was the first hat trick in Harder’s MCAC career.
“It was pretty awesome,” said Harder. “That first goal, I kind of got a bit lucky with the back heel.”
Defenceman Minh Tran scored the team’s fourth goal in the 43rd minute.
Head coach Chuck Mrena was happy with the win but was especially proud of his team’s first half performance.
“They made a couple of mistakes, and we caught up on that and took advantage of it,” said Mrena.
However, the Cougars showed more fight in the second half, where the Rebels allowed two goals and only managed to get one shot on net. The Rebels survived the late push by ACC and their goalie, Marcos Bremgartner, stopped a breakaway chance from Cougar’s striker Joseph Umoyoh.
Mrena said the team had difficulty playing against the wind in the second half, something his team will work on in practice.
Another thing the Rebels will look to improve during practice is their overall fitness.
“I didn’t really get tired this game, but I feel like against stronger teams, they’ll work me a little bit harder, so I want to be ready for that,” said Harder.
Rebels Women’s Soccer Team Dominates ACC Cougars on Both Sides of the Ball
The Rebels women’s soccer team won 3-1 over the ACC Cougars, but were it not for a stellar game by the Cougar’s goalkeeper, Telecia Dowsett, the final score would not have been as close.
RRC kept the play in the Cougar’s end for the majority of the game. They played the fast, hard, and structured game head coach Doug Lawrie was hoping for.
“I saw some really good attacking play, some strong play on the wing with some really good scrambles,” said Lawrie. “We had determination on scramble plays to finish and score. I was happy to see that.”
Rebels striker Sarah Stoffel scored two goals for the team, while Laura Dyer scored the game winner off a scramble. Stoffel’s first goal came off a corner kick by Dyer, while her second goal came late after winning a battle for the ball in the box.
While the Rebels are happy with the win, they know they need to be ready for their next match.
RRC has a full weekend of action next week and will travel to Providence University College to face the Pilots on Saturday, September 21. The teams will return home to host the Université de Saint-Boniface Les Rouges on Sunday, September 22 to cap off the weekend.
