Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Another weekend. Another first-place showdown.
The MacEwan Griffins women's soccer team wouldn't want it any other way as they play meaningful games in the stretch run of the Canada West season.
After taking four of a possible six points in a pair of matches against cross-town rival Alberta last weekend, the Griffins clinched a home playoff date by whipping Mount Royal 7-1 on Tuesday.
Now, the final regular season carrot: a visit to the Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon on Saturday (2 p.m., Canada West TV presented by Co-op) in an attempt to win a Canada West division title for the first time program history.
MacEwan (8-1-3) is in the pole position, three points ahead of Saskatchewan (7-2-3) and would officially clinch first with a victory over the Huskies. Even a draw would keep them in the driver's seat heading to Sunday when they'll visit Regina (3-6-3) on Sunday (12 p.m., Canada West TV presented by Co-op), while Saskatchewan will host Alberta (5-2-5) to close out the regular season.
"We know we're three points ahead of them, but the first tiebreaker's head to head," said MacEwan head coach Dean Cordeiro. "We know a result is going to likely pave the way for us to finish first.
"Obviously, there's another game played the following day and we'll have to take care of business, but if we take care of business Saturday, we secure first place."
Should they lose Saturday and the teams end up tied atop the standings after the dust clears on Sunday, it would head into a tiebreaking formula of calculating plus/minus vs. common opponents.
"You want to be playing in meaningful games down the stretch, not just to get in but to finish the top of the table," said Cordeiro. "We're going to definitely set ourselves up for success.
"That being said, Sask's a tough team. Over the years, we've battled hard versus each other. They're even tougher at home, so we know we're going to be going into a match where they'll be ready to go. Jerson (Barandica-Hamilton) is a great coach. He'll have them all organized, and it will be a battle for 90 minutes on Saturday."
While MacEwan has had success against Regina in the past couple of seasons – most notably beating them 4-0 in a Play-In playoff game last season – Cordeiro knows they can't take anything for granted on Sunday.
"Regina's no different than any team in this league," he said. "They're a solid side. They're always tougher at home. They're well coached and well organized.
"Everybody's playing for something different in terms of seeding in playoffs. We've got to go in and just take it one game at a time. Our focus will be Sask, but then we'll have to switch gears and prepare for a very good Regina side the following day as well."
Either way, MacEwan will serve as one of four host sites for the opening weekend of the playoffs.
Should they finish first, Pacific #4 would play Prairie #5 on Friday, Oct. 25 (2 p.m.) for the right to face MacEwan on Sunday, Oct. 27 (2 p.m.) in a quarter-final match.
Should the Griffins finish second, they would be hosting a weekend with Pacific #3 and Prairie #6 seeds.