Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Perhaps the best women's university soccer team in Canada stands in the way of the MacEwan Griffins on Friday night.
Physical, talented and stingy, the defending Canada West champion Trinity Western Spartans have rolled through their first four opponents – outscoring them by an 11-2 count – and are one of just two undefeated squads left on the table.
Their most impressive weekend was beating fellow conference powers Victoria and UBC – who both also went to nationals last season – by a combined 7-2 score in back-to-back games.
Needless to say, the Griffins need no introduction to the challenge that awaits them on Friday (6 p.m. MT, Canada West TV).
For a team that has finished fourth in the conference for two-straight seasons, this is the type of raise-the-bar test the Griffins need to pass if they're to reach their goal of qualifying for U SPORTS nationals for the first time.
"They've had an illustrious history," said Griffins head coach Dean Cordeiro, whose team will play on TWU's Langley, B.C.-based field for the first time in program history on Friday. "Graham (Roxburgh)'s done an amazing job in shaping that program. They're the top dog, so for those that want to get into that conversation, they're going to be a team you're going to have to get past.
"We're really looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity. It's not going to be easy. They're a well-oiled machine in the way they play," he continued. "It's exciting and it is a big challenge but we're up for it. I feel like every game we've played we've gotten a little bit better here and stronger and we're starting to build some momentum. That's what you want, you want to get stronger every week."
The Griffins (2-1-1), who will also visit UFV (0-2-2) on Saturday (6:30 p.m. MT, Canada West TV), are coming off a 3-0 win over Regina (1-3-0) – their first multi-goal game of the season after dominating possession and chances in all their matches so far.
"Yeah, we're coming off three goals, but now we're playing against probably the top defensive program not only in the conference but maybe in the country," said Cordeiro. "They give up goals few and far between, so it will be a good challenge for our group.
"We've got to be creative and find solutions to counter-act what they're doing, play our game and hopefully generate chances like we did against Regina."
To this point of the season, the Griffins have faced four teams that have all adopted a similar strategy in an attempt to slow them down – sit back and clog up the passing lanes, aiming for quick strike counter-attacking opportunities. Cordeiro expects TWU to be much different.
"I don't suspect that will be the case for Trinity (Western)," he said. "They're No. 1-ranked for a reason. They're going to play their game, be aggressive and attack, so hopefully it will open up. If we can play our game and possess, hopefully we'll have some opportunities in transition to catch them off guard as we won't have to maybe get through as many players as we've faced the first four games.
"Again, it's a different challenge, a different look. Part of what makes Trinity (Western) so good is they possess the ball for long periods of time. They really put it on teams, they possess really well and they're physical, so it takes its toll."
But it's a fire the Griffins need to go through to get to the next level.
"This is one of the toughest road trips you can go on," said Cordeiro. "It's really challenging and it's a short turnaround … so there's very little time in between to prep for your other opponent.
"We want to get stronger one game at a time. Our focus right now is on Trinity (Western) and after that we'll turn our focus to Fraser Valley. It's not going to be an easy weekend. We've got to play our game and do what we need to do and if we do that, we'll come back home from this trip happy."
