Jason Hills
For MacEwan Athletics
SASKATOON – Last year, the MacEwan Griffins scored a goal in stoppage time to steal a victory away from the Saskatchewan Huskies.
On Saturday, the Huskies returned the favour.
With the Griffins holding on to a 2-1 lead in stoppage time, Saskatchewan had a last second corner kick. After a mad scramble in front, the ball popped out to midfielder Jade Houmphanh, who made no mistake and helped Saskatchewan steal two points in a 2-2 draw.
"We're disappointed ... we're not happy to be walking away with just a point," said Griffins head coach Dean Cordeiro.
"We gave up a corner kick a little too easily in the closing moments and set pieces can come back to bite you. Their player took a hell of a shot to tie it on the final play of the game."
Forwards Alyx Henderson and Grace Mwasalla scored both goals for the Griffins, while Cheyenne Lehmann tallied the other marker for the Huskies.
Both teams took the opening 15 minutes to test the waters a bit, but it didn't take long afterwards for scoring chances and opportunities to start popping up.
After some solid pressure from the Huskies, the Griffins were able to open the scoring in the 29th minute as Mwasalla showed a strong presence to draw the defender to her and then fed a beautiful pass to Henderson, who made no mistake to give MacEwan a 1-0 lead.
The lead didn't last long.
Just three minutes later, Lehmann scored an Olimpico off a corner kick that Griffins goalkeeper Elizabeth Knight had no chance on.
"That corner kick, she swung it brilliantly, there was nothing we could do on that goal," said Corderio.
"It was a tough one to take, but it seemed like they had a little magic in their goals today."
After giving up 11 shots in the first half, and six on net, the Griffins made strong adjustments and pushed back hard in the second half
Mwasalla, who was making her triumphant return to the Griffins lineup with her first regular season appearance since Sept.17, 2023 after a devastating knee injury, came up clutch with the go-ahead marker in the 63rd minute to give MacEwan a 2-1 lead.
The goal was the 29th of her career, and with her two-point performance, became the program's all-time leader in scoring with 38 points, passing Suekiana Choucair's 36 points from 2015-2019.
"The deception she showed to set up Alyx today on her goal, and then to score to give us the lead, it was so great to have Grace back on the pitch with us today," said Cordeiro.
"It's not surprising to see her break our program record. Grace is a special talent and amazing leader for this program. I'm super proud of her. It will be fun to see her on her journey for this year and beyond, and we're happy she's wearing maroon and white."
For Mwasalla, she admits she was a bit emotional making her regular season debut after spending the last 11 months recovering from her injury.
"Throughout the morning, I was thinking a lot about the last 11 months. The support my teammates gave me (throughout recovery) helped me prepare for today. They were with me throughout this journey," said Mwasalla.
To score in her return made it even more special.
Final 2-2
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Soccer (@Griffins_WSOC) September 7, 2024
POG went to @gracemwasalla as she didn't miss a beat in our season opener and held us in the game. Tallying an assist and a goal! ⭐️
BELT went to @SelynnaSimao as she was dominate in the back line, and additionally was her first career start! �� pic.twitter.com/TbtekrmJQ1
"I knew that if I posted up (on that play) and had a chance to turn and shoot, I'd have a good chance. It was a great feeling, and hopefully there will be many more to come."
Cordeiro was pleased with his team's effort, despite the draw. He was particularly happy with the performance from Selynna Simao, who made her first career start on the Griffins back line on Saturday.
Knight was also making her first career start for MacEwan.
"Selynna's silky smooth, she won every ball and was a real leader back there. Lizzy was sharp. She came up with some big time stops for us when we needed it," said Cordeiro.
"Overall, I'm proud of the team, and proud of our effort. There are some things we need to clean up and be better for our next game against Regina, tomorrow, but there are many positives we can take away from this being our first game of the season."
The Griffins (0-0-1) will now travel south to take on the Regina Cougars (1-0) on Sunday (12 MT).
