Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Exchanging sparkling championship rings for hard hats and work boots, the MacEwan Griffins women's soccer team switched gears from a special pre-game ceremony honouring their 2021 U SPORTS title and earned a hard-fought 3-1 win over cross-town rival Alberta in their Canada West home opener on Friday night.
Fifth-year senior Erin Van Dolder was spectacular on the muggy hot August evening, setting the tone with her usual robust style in midfield before scoring two second-half goals to propel the Griffins to victory.
"It was awesome," said Van Dolder. "This was a big one for us, having that mentality coming off of a championship knowing people are coming for us.
"So, it was really exciting to get out there, shake off those nerves and get playing our game in the second half."
Alyx Henderson gave the Griffins a quick 1-0 lead just five minutes into the contest, jumping on a loose ball in the box and chipping it past Pandas goalkeeper Autumn Wynn.
But the visitors mucked up much of what the Griffins were trying to do for the rest of the half, consistently breaking up links and spending large chunks of time in MacEwan's end.
They didn't really get much success in the attacking third, though, repelled over and over by a strong Griffins' back line.
But Alberta finally broke through to tie the contest on the final play of the first half when Erin Hope's brilliant corner kick curled inside the near post off the hands of MacEwan keeper Bianca Castillo.
"I loved our start," said Griffins head coach Dean Cordeiro. "It was one of those things. Credit them. We're all 0-0, it's a fresh start to the season. We know we're going to get the U of A's best. We're going to get everybody's best.
"Obviously, we had to weather a bit of a push-back from the U of A. I thought we had a couple of close chances after, but we let them get back in, and right before the half you never want to concede. It was a set-piece goal and we're going to have to look at what we can fix."
But the Griffins – in a textbook response of what champions do – came out flying to start the second half and really never looked back.
Half-time sub Grace Schimpf's 51st minute free kick from the side of the box, rattled off a couple of bodies before Van Dolder slotted it through several pairs of legs inside the left post.
The insurance marker took forever to come for the Griffins, but they weren't without chances.
Van Dolder sizzled a laser from the left side off the crossbar in the 59th before Schimpf's chip off a beautiful Maya Morrell cross in the 86th found the bar also.
"Two crossbars, so you're wondering if that third goal's going to come," said Cordeiro. "You're always just one mistake away from them levelling. But for us, Erin Van Dolder was clutch, and we'll take the victory from our first game of the season."
At the end of an extended extra time period due to several players cramping up in the heat and having to leave the proceedings, Van Dolder put the game away on a penalty kick after Morrell was taken down in the box.
"It was super relieving," she said. "Next time, I'm hoping we score a little sooner, but I'm going to take it anyways. These are my first two goals in a while. I'm excited."
The Griffins will visit the Pandas in a weekend rematch on Sunday (12 p.m., Foote Field, Canada West TV).
The Griffins 2021 women's soccer team poses after receiving their championship rings for capturing the U SPORTS title (Tia Schram photo).
