Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – The Griffins men's soccer team has come close to defeating the cross-town rival Alberta Golden Bears many times since they entered Canada West in 2014.
Last season, they were up 1-0 on their rivals until the 84th minute when the Golden Bears equalized to net a 1-1 draw.
Four other times they've tied, including in 2021 and 2022 matches.
MacEwan will be heading across town to meet Alberta on Saturday (2:15 p.m., Foote Field, Canada West TV), searching for their first win against them in Canada West action.
"I think we've drawn with them three seasons in a row," said MacEwan head coach Adam Loga. "They've been very competitive and could have gone either way. We conceded an unfortunate PK (last season) in the last few minutes for them to draw 1-1, so we've been right there.
"We just have to look after the details because they're a side that can punish you if you don't. Like any team in this league, it's going to be competitive. Hopefully, we can come out on the right end."
This was supposed to be the second time MacEwan and Alberta have met this season, but their Sept. 2 date at Clarke Stadium was postponed due to the air quality index. That match will be made up on Oct. 4 (4 p.m., Edmonton Scottish), but first they will meet in the regular scheduled game at Foote on Saturday.
"It's a derby match, so a lot of familiar faces for both sides on each side," said Loga. "To have (the Sept. 2 game) almost kick off and then stopped abruptly was a little different. We're looking forward to playing them on Saturday."
Among the familiar faces are MacEwan's Chance Carter and Alberta's Marcus Velado-Tsegaye, who have been friends since kindergarten, playing on FC Edmonton together before their university careers.
The Griffins are coming in off a 4-3 loss to UFV last Sunday and a 3-2 defeat at Victoria last Friday – both games where their offence was cooking, but their defensive play wasn't.
"That's kind of been an Achilles' heel, especially the last three or four games, said Loga. "It's just back to the basics, back to the principles of play. The details, as spoken about earlier, and communication (need to improve).
"We've got a lot of new guys back there, given our eligibility woes. We've just got to go with the cards we have."
