Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams at Providence College are headed for the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) championships after another weekend of success on the pitch.
On Sunday, the women’s team played at home, facing the Brandon Bobcats with first place up for grabs.
At the 32 minute mark, defender Ava Temple delivered a perfect pass to midfielder Paige Heide, who was able to score her ninth goal of the season.
Five minutes later, the Bobcats evened the score. Moments before the halftime whistle, though, left-winger Laurianne Chiasson scored her second goal of the season to lift Providence to a 2–1 lead.
Brandon played hard in the second half but goalkeeper Isabella Geith stopped every shot, allowing the Pilots to end their season on a high.
That same day, the Providence athletics department recognized five Pilots seniors who had just played the final home match of their college careers: Jordyn Briggs, Ava Temple, Paige Heide, Julia Herperger, and Kayla Miller.
The men’s team had an equally successful Sunday, defeating Brandon 5–2.
Pilots attacker Garreth Rayner began the scoring in minute 12 with his fifth goal of the season.
Nine minutes later, the Pilots were at it again as a freekick by midfielder Johannes Barnes gave attacker Joel Umeh a chance to score.
And five minutes later, it was Umeh again who jumped on a loose ball and pushed the Pilots lead to 3–0.
The Bobcats closed the gap a little just before the break but weren’t able to continue that momentum into the second half.
Twelve minutes after play resumed, Pilots attacker Rashard Hibbert scored.
After a counter from the Bobcats, with the score at 4–2, Umeh swept in with the hat trick, left-footing his team-leading eighth goal of the season and cementing the win.
Russell Willms, Providence’s Director of Athletics, says,
“This win was the perfect way to end a very successful regular season for rookie head coach Giovanni Benitez Friesen,” says Russell Willms, Providence’s Director of Athletics. “The captain-turned-manager has led the Pilots to a record of 9–1–2 and the program’s first regular season title in well over a decade.”
Next weekend, both the men’s and women’s teams will enter the MCAC semifinals in first place. They will face Les Rouges in the semifinals at Winnipeg’s Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex.