Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Two storied Canada West women's soccer programs are on the docket for the MacEwan Griffins women's soccer team, including a rematch of last season's U SPORTS semifinal.
The Griffins (1-1-0) will visit Victoria (0-2-1) on Friday (6 p.m. MT) before a quick turnaround to meet UBC (3-0-0) on Saturday (6 p.m. MT, both Canada West TV).
"I'm excited about this weekend," said head coach Dean Cordeiro. "I've always said it's the toughest swing trip we could have in the conference.
"We're excited to go on the road – our first trip of the year. We'll be ready, we'll be up for the matches."
Victoria and MacEwan have already built a history of tough playoff matches with each team winning one against each other since the Griffins joined Canada West in 2014.
"For UVic, it's their home opener and Thunderfest evening, which always brings out huge crowds," said Cordeiro. "It's going to be a great event and a good game."
A day later, the Griffins will go into the home of the UBC Thunderbirds, who are unbeaten and just received the No. 1 rank in this week's U SPORTS Top 10 rankings. The Griffins are currently eighth.
Along with that backdrop, the two foes have a recent history. MacEwan beat UBC 1-0 in the 2021 U SPORTS championship semifinal, en route to winning the national title.
"You always look in the past a little bit to take trends and tendencies that were maybe picked up in those matches, but this is a new year, a new team," stressed Cordeiro. "Both teams have had a little bit of turnover
"We're going to break down the video – they've been off to a good start – and see where we can pick up a few things that are useful in terms of what we want to accomplish on the day. But as in any game we play, we're more worried about us than the opponent. We want to make sure we're executing the plan and going out there clicking on all cylinders."
The Griffins have had a full 12 days to fine tune things since they last played – a period that seems even longer considering they last left the pitch after a 5-2 defeat to Alberta. They've regrouped and learned from the stunning loss, which has the potential to serve as a wakeup call and rallying point for a team replacing five starters from last season's championship run.
"The biggest thing for us is graduating five seniors and five starters, who now have been replaced with new players," said Cordeiro. "They're gaining experience in those roles. They're ready for it, they're super talented and we're excited for (what they can do). Now, it's about getting repetitions in those spots. You can't get experience without getting experience.
"It's early days; we're two games in. We're going to grow game by game. I'm excited about the growth already that we've seen in preseason and opening weekend."
