Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
SASKATOON, Sask. – After losing their top-two scorers from last season – Phil Masri and Antony Caceres – the Griffins men's soccer team headed into a fresh campaign needing to score by committee to make up the difference.
They'd settle for scoring from anybody at this point after being blanked in back-to-back games on their season-opening road trip – a 2-0 loss to Lethbridge on Friday followed by a 3-0 defeat at Saskatchewan on Sunday.
Nothing went their way against the Huskies as they were unable to link enough passes together to mount much of an attack, mustering just two shots on goal.
"We had a bit of a wave there late in the first half," said Adam Loga of their strongest stretch of the match when Griffins Game MVP Chance Carter had three shots and Ali Yildiz was stopped on a point-blank chance from in tight. "We've got to finish those and (bury) our opportunities because it changes the dynamic a little bit as we move forward. We were chasing the game going into the half.
"Obviously, missing Ricky hurt because we know we've got to pick up goals that we're missing from last year."
To further deplete their scoring options, veteran striker Ricky Yassin was suspended for the match after receiving a red card in a post-game scrum at Lethbridge on Friday.
Ali Yildiz comes close for the @MacEwanGriffins in 24th minute after a great run and cross from Samuel Vieira.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/gXVDSPwTmx
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Soccer (@GriffinsMSOC) September 1, 2024
Saskatchewan struck first on Sunday when Daler Tokhirov's 18th-minute cross was blasted home by Ethan Cabral, who benefitted from a lucky deflection off a defender that spun the ball left as goalkeeper Oleksandr Popravka dove right.
It was just the beginning of a hard luck day for MacEwan, who were on the wrong side of a severe foul discrepancy in the match – 18-7. Frustration boiled over at times, resulting in the Griffins being booked for three yellow cards to none for the Huskies.
"At the end of the day, I thought we played very well," said Loga. "It was just the same story a little bit to Lethbridge. We were a bit hard done by – arguably could have had three opportunities for a PK and bounces just didn't go our way.
"We have to continue to battle through that adversity and be resilient because again, no one's going to give us any favours and we can't expect any."
With the result, the Griffins fall to 0-2-0, while the Huskies improve to 1-2-0.
A missed assignment off a corner kick in the 52nd minute put the Griffins down 2-0 as Tokhirov's cross to the back post was headed home by a wide-open Robert Woodroffe-Brown.
"It was pretty similar to the first goal against U of L – kind of body shape, body position on a cross back post that we need to just close down and be better, and a bit more hungrier for," said Loga.
With the Griffins pressing for something positive on the scoresheet late, on an 88th minute free kick, Jakob Sievert was bowled over in the box during a hard collision with Saskatchewan keeper Jaron Slopinski.
Play continued, however, as the Huskies went the length of the field with superior numbers and scored to go up 3-0 when Robert Mackay slotted Misgana Killoh's pass back past Popravka.
Popravka made six saves, including a spectacular diving effort in the 36th minute.
Next-level diving save from Oleksandr Popravka in the 36th one of three stops for the first-year @MacEwanGriffins keeper. pic.twitter.com/nw8r1iKDiD
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Soccer (@GriffinsMSOC) September 1, 2024
If there is a positive for the Griffins, as they prepare for their home opener on Sept. 7 vs. Mount Royal (12 p.m., Edmonton Scottish, Canada West TV), it's that maybe they got their run of bad luck this season out of their system.
"I think our run of a bit of misfortune – maybe the tide or the current will change because in these last two games there have been situations and occurrences in the run of play that have happened that I'll probably potentially never see again," said Loga. "We just have to know that this isn't the norm, and the best is yet to come."
