Three Stars: Alexander, Carter, Olsen earn honours
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Women's soccer student-athlete Sabrina Alexander is the MacEwan Athletics' first star of the week after setting a new program record for the most wins in a Canada West regular season by a rookie goalkeeper.
Alexander picked up her record sixth win of the season after MacEwan beat Calgary on Sunday after also being in for the Griffins' win over Lethbridge on Saturday.
Men's soccer midfielder Chance Carter and women's hockey defenceman Sydney Olsen were named the second and third stars of the week, respectively.
It's the first appearance on the Three Stars list for all three student-athletes.
1st STAR: Sabrina Alexander, GK, women's soccer
Edmonton, AB, first-year, Nursing
Thrust into the starting role when veteran Toni Gill suffered an injury in MacEwan's home opener, Alexander has proceeded to rattle off six-straight wins to start the 2023 Canada West season.
Her sixth came in a 1-0 shutout victory over Calgary on Sunday that broke an eight-year-old program single season record originally set by Emily Burns in 2015 for the most wins in a season by a rookie goalkeeper.
Alexander made five saves in Sunday's win, including denying Calgary's leading scorer Ella Djuranic on a breakaway late in the second half and preserving the win in the dying minutes with a point-blank save on Isabella DiPalma.
Alexander also picked up a win on Saturday when she played the first 78 minutes of a 4-0 shutout of Lethbridge.
For the season, Alexander is up to 2.5 shutouts, 11 saves with a 0.54 GAA and .786 save percentage.
Alexander and the Griffins (6-0-0) will host Mount Royal (0-3-2) on Saturday (2:30 p.m.) and Victoria (2-3-0) on Sunday (12 p.m., both Clarke Stadium, Canada West TV).
Sabrina Alexander throws a pass during action against Saskatchewan earlier this season (Jefferson Hagen photo).
2nd STAR: Chance Carter, M, men's soccer
Edmonton, AB, third-year, Science
A calm, settling force when he's on the field, Carter was a welcome addition to the Griffins' lineup during the team's first road trip of the season as they visited Calgary over the weekend.
In his season debut, Carter logged back-to-back 90-minute performances against Mount Royal on Saturday and Calgary on Sunday, recording a shot on goal in each.
Against Calgary on Saunday, Carter was named game MVP for a stellar performance on both sides of the pitch. Not only did he play a crucial role in seeing the game out defensively in the latter stages, he picked up an assist on Rakan Yassin's game-winning goal when he sent the dangerous striker in alone.
While it doesn't show up in the boxscore, he also had the second assist on Ali Yildiz's opening goal, switching the field with a great pass to Samuel Vieira, whose cross into Yildiz was next level.
Carter and the Griffins (2-2-0) will host UBC (5-0-1) on Saturday (12 p.m.) and Thompson Rivers University (1-5-0) on Sunday (4:30 p.m., both Clarke Stadium, Canada West TV).
Chance Carter's play in midfield was a big reason why the Griffins defeated the Calgary Dinos 3-1 on Sunday (Chris Lindsey photo).
3rd STAR: Sydney Olsen, D, women's hockey
Edmonton, AB, third-year, Science
During a weekend exhibition tournament at NAIT, Olsen was a force of nature for the Griffins, recording a goal and five assists in three games.
Not bad for a blueliner, who was also tasked with her regular duties in the defensive zone.
In Friday's 5-1 win over NAX U18 Prep, Olsen had a goal and an assist.
In Saturday's 4-3 loss to Lakeland College, she had two assists.
And in Sunday's 6-0 win over NAIT, Olsen had two more apples.
Olsen and the Griffins will face Canada West competition this weekend, hosting cross-town rival Alberta on Friday (7 p.m., Downtown Community Arena) and visiting them on Sunday (5 p.m., Clare Drake Arena).
In addition to her usual solid defensive play, blue liner Sydney Olsen recorded six points in three weekend exhibition games (Joel Kingston photo).
