The Providence Pilots men’s soccer team had a winning weekend. On October 15, they trounced the Assiniboine Community College Cougars with an 8–1 victory. The next day, they beat the Université de Saint-Boniface Les Rouges by a score of 3–1.

“I thought overall the boys and I showed trust in the game plan Coach Mo [Cato] had set out for us,” says JoJo Barnes, a midfielder for the team. “We did what we had to do to win two big games over the weekend and it puts us in a good place for the playoffs. I’m proud of the guys who had to play different roles, as they did really well in adapting and doing what was asked of them.”

Coach Cato agrees with his player’s assessment.

“I think the hard work we put in throughout the season is starting to pay off,” Cato says. “We’re putting all the pieces together at the right time and looking really good down the home stretch.”

Up next, the Pilots will conclude their regular season at home against the top-seeded Brandon University Bobcats. Providence lost their first matchup 1–3 and dropped the second match on home field 0–1 on a goal during injury time.

The Pilots have secured the second seed and are unable to catch the Bobcats, so this match is about bragging rights and momentum heading into the postseason.

Women’s Soccer

The women’s soccer team had only one game this weekend and they pulled off a 2–0 win against the Assiniboine Community College (ACC) Cougars.

“It is always challenging beating teams multiple times in a season, as coaches and players can make good adjustments and tactical changes,” says head coach Tory Walker. “ACC did a great job compacting the middle and shutting down chances around the 18-yard box, which is why we struggled to score. The team played really well, and it was great to see the team put together a full team win despite facing a challenging opponent and conditions. We are a team that is learning and growing each day and we are getting excited for playoffs coming up in a few weeks’ time.”

The team’s upcoming match with Les Rouges was moved from Sunday to Wednesday, October 19. The team will enter the match with only two games remaining on the season, however, and the standings are all but set in stone. The Pilots would need to win both of their final two matches and Les Rouges would need to lose to the Pilots, Canadian Mennonite University, and Assiniboine Community College in order Providence to overtake the top spot.

Women’s Basketball

The Pilots women’s basketball team had a tough weekend, losing back-to-back matches against the Briercrest College Clippers with final scores of 50–107 and 41–62.

“Starting off the season against a strong Briercrest team was a challenge, but a great way to see where we are at and continue our growth in this new style of play,” says Anna Cushon, a forward for the Pilots. “There were a lot of ups and downs on the court, but even on the bench we were able to maintain tremendous energy, which I think was a huge accomplishment for our team and a positive place to build from.”

“The gym was electric on Friday night,” says the coach, Joel Coursey. “We may have lost by a large margin, but you wouldn’t have known by looking at us. If winning was an emotion and not a statistical calculation, we surely won.”

Coursey adds that the team is undergoing a transformation in their style of play, and there is plenty of room to grow. He says that the positives experienced this weekend, despite the losses, are nothing short of extraordinary.

“Once this team puts it all together, they will be on a whole new level and the product on the court will be well worth the price of admission,” he says. “I am excited looking ahead to this coming weekend’s games with Turtle Mountain Community College. I think we will make another leap forward.”

The team is back in the Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NIAC) this season and looks to return to their pre-COVID form. Providence finished in second place in 2020 and were league champions in 2019.

They kick off their NIAC season at home on Friday night when they host the Turtle Mountain Community College Mighty Mikinocks at Niverville’s CRRC.

Men’s Basketball

The men’s basketball team played back to back games against Briercrest College as well. Their first game ended in victory with a final score of 74–72 and their second game was another close one, this time a 76–80 loss.

“As much as we had a disappointing finish to our second game, I’m proud of our guys, as there were many positives that came out of the weekend,” says point guard Kevin Martinez. “We had a strong finish as a team… There are definitely some adjustments and some improvements to be made this week before our next back-to-back versus Turtle Mountain, but I’m excited about what this team has to offer this season.”

“This weekend was the first test for our team against an experienced Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opponent,” adds head coach Pierre Dubreuil. “The team showed great discipline and hustle in defence on Friday night. Trading baskets all game long, they fought hard to stay in the game. Led by an offensive master class from our senior Josh Armstrong, we slowly came back to take the lead on a clutch shot, six seconds to the end of the game.”

Up next, Providence will hit the hardwood on Friday night in their Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NIAC) season opener against Turtle Mountain. The Pilots looked good last weekend against Briercrest and hope it’s a sign of what’s ahead.

Women’s Volleyball

In women’s volleyball, the Pilots had a disappointing weekend with two consecutive losses in their preseason. On Saturday, October 16, they fell to the University of Winnipeg Wesmen with final tallies of 15–25, 9–25, and 18–25.

The next day, they lost to the Lakehead University Thunderwolves 25–27, 23–25, and 11–25.

“We were pretty excited for this trip to Thunder Bay, and I believe that it was a great opportunity to play some high-level teams,” says Courtney Penner, an outside hitter. “We had a bit of a rough start, but we continually improved and got better throughout the weekend. I believe these preseason matches and the bonding we have experienced over this trip will set us up nicely for a great season ahead.”

Head coach Kyle Guenther says that in their first match with the Wesmen, they just couldn’t get anything going.

“Our pace on offence and defence was slower than we wanted, and we simply made too many errors,” Guenther explains. “The Wesmen played a very clean match and took advantage of our below-average performance. It was great to have another match the next day to rebound against Lakehead University. We were a completely different team this time around and executed at a high level for most of the match. Unfortunately, we couldn’t close out either of the first two sets where we held leads late. But, in the end, we did a lot of things well that gave us confidence moving forward. We will take a lot of positives from this experience as we close in on our season opener in less than two weeks.”

Up next, both Pilots volleyball teams will compete in intersquad matches on Thursday, October 20 before hosting the Millar Edge on Monday, October 24. This will conclude their preseason.