Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – With the Griffins men's soccer team switching their training facility to Edmonton Scottish this season, it's not surprising they may have unearthed a gem from the club, too.

Izak Moussa Bahdon, who was already a MacEwan University student, is a Griffins student-athlete, too, after joining head coach Adam Loga's squad for the 2022 Canada West season.

"I saw Izak during one of the times COVID subsided a little bit," explained Loga. "I was able to come to Scottish and watch his 2003 team. I noticed him right away. He looked good and registered for classes. Obviously, in 2020 our season was cancelled. So, we just kept in touch and he did classes online."

That culminated in him joining the Griffins for his rookie university season and the 6-foot-1 striker is already adding to the team's punch up front.

In the team's two opening games last weekend – a 3-0 loss to Mount Royal and 1-1 draw with Calgary – Bahdon played all but 15 minutes, registering three shots on goal.

Bahdon is coming in off two big international experiences in the last year. Last fall, he represented his home country of Somalia in a regional qualifier for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations. 

"It's different," said Bahdon, noting Somalia didn't qualify out of the tournament. "It was a great experience – the first time representing your home country, everybody's supporting you. It was really nice."

More recently, he played third division semi-pro in Croatia on a three-month stint over the off-season with Tomislav.

"It was very nice," said Bahdon. "It was a different experience. We played a lot of games. Overall, it was amazing. I really developed as a player, became a better striker, a better forward. It was a great experience. I really loved it."

Bahdon and the Griffins are preparing for their first road trip of the season this weekend as they head to Lethbridge on Friday (5 p.m.) and Saskatchewan on Sunday (2 p.m., both Canada West TV).