Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.
Teams heading to Prince George, B.C. to meet the UNBC Timberwolves would do well to practice that mantra in their preparation.
The MacEwan Griffins, who will make a trip there for a Canada West women's soccer doubleheader on Friday and Saturday (7 p.m. MT both days, Canada West TV), will be heeding that advice.
They need only look at how two of their fellow Pacific Division powerhouses handled last weekend in Prince George.
On Sept. 28, the UBC Thunderbirds destroyed the T'Wolves 7-0 in the biggest Canada West blowout of the season.
Yet, two days later, UNBC fought to earn a 1-1 tie with Victoria, a team which went to nationals last season.
So, the Griffins (5-2-1) won't be taking anything for granted against the upstart T'Wolves (1-4-3).
"I think UNBC has made huge leaps and bounds as a program," said MacEwan head coach Dean Cordeiro. "Neil (Sedgwick) has done a great job. This is a team that came a goal short against Trinity and tied UVic. They went through that same tough stretch and had some good results.
"They have some veteran players that have contributed on the scoresheet pretty regularly. So, for us, nothing can change in our preparation. On the road it's harder, so we're going to have to be at our best to get through the weekend, for sure."
MacEwan is coming off a 1-0 loss to UBC at home last Sunday that snapped their four-game winning streak. They're hungry to get back in the win column, especially with top spot in the Pacific Division still a reality for them.
"I think they'll be motivated," said Cordeiro. "I think the girls know we let one slip away. It was unfortunate the way the goal came off a ricochet. That's sport and those things happen. There's very little room for error. Unfortunately, UBC made one less mistake and got the job done.
"For me, I didn't think we played our best game. We didn't come out as strong as I had hoped for. To be fair, too, we're asking these student-athletes to bring it every single day, whether it be at training or at games. Sometimes that's just not sustainable.
"I'm proud of our team's efforts this past weekend," added the coach, whose team also beat Victoria 2-1 last weekend. "A split was big. We probably deserved a little bit more.
"I think the girls will be motivated that we let one slip away. That was kind of the mood on Sunday, so I think the girls will want to quickly right that wrong and get back on the winning track on Friday."
One nice perk of this weekend's road trip is less travel in that the Griffins are camping out in Prince George for three nights.
"I think it helps more from a preparation standpoint," said Cordeiro. "The way we like to do things, in particular, everything's being prepared for our first game and then we have a quicker turnaround to switch gears for our next opponent.
"So, the nice thing is, it's the same opponent. Things will have to change within those games. It's a little bit of a rivalry having those games back to back. We'll get all the travel out of the way at the start and then we can kind of set up a home base and get down to business."