For the second year in a row, the Providence University College basketball and volleyball teams will be playing their home games at the CRRC in Niverville. This month we’re kicking off our regular coverage of their teams, including men’s and women’s soccer.
Men’s Soccer
The Providence Pilots Men’s Soccer team travelled to Winnipeg on September 28 for a match against the Université le Saint-Boniface (USB) Les Rouges. From kickoff to the final whistle, the game was physical, but the Pilots kept their composure and played well.
A late goal in the first half gave USB a little added momentum going into the break.
Coming into the second half, Providence continued playing a great game but a late goal by USB led to a final score of 2–1 in favour of Les Rouges. Alen Milas-Ibrahimovic scored the Pilots’ only goal of the game.
On October 1, the Pilots headed out to Brandon for a doubleheader against the Assiniboine Community College (ACC) Cougars. The Pilots knew they needed to earn maximum points from the weekend if they wanted to stay in reach of the top spot in the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) standings.
Game one was a grind, resulting in a 3–0 victory for the Pilots with a goal each from Alen Milas-Ibrahimovic, Nelson Heinrichs, and Wyatt Neufeld.
Day two in Brandon brought another exciting game and a 5–1 victory. Joel Umeh scored once for the team, and Garreth Rayner and Alen Milas-Ibrahimovic each scored twice.
“You must fight to reach your dream. You must sacrifice and work hard for it,” said Milas-Ibrahimovic, a first-year player for Province, after the game. “Saturday’s game showed just that. The boys kept their composure and intensity out there on the pitch and it wasn’t just a one-man show. We all worked as a unit to accomplish that victory at the end. I am more than grateful to be a Pilot.”
Head coach Mo Cato was pleased with his team’s hard work.
“If we continue to play with this much passion, the results will follow,” Cato said.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer team met the league-leading Saint-Boniface Les Rouges on September 28. After a disappointing 0–3 home showing earlier in the season, the Pilots were hopeful for a stronger result but knew they would need a total team effort as they have been dealing with injuries at this point in the season.
The squad came out to play, with Laurianne Chiasson shutting down the opposing goal-scoring leader Sara Boissonneault. The Pilots got ahead 2–0, then allowed a late goal to cut the lead in half.
Time ran out on the league leaders and the Pilots earned their biggest victory of the season. Kathryn Tierney and Paige Heide each got a goal.
Next up, the Pilots started a doubleheader on October 2 with the ACC Cougars. The first match couldn’t have started better for the Pilots. They got on the board quickly, and with the help of Isabelle Geith, the Pilots blanked the Cougars to take game one.
The next day was much of the same for Providence, who once again finished with a clean sheet for their goalie Amalia Major. Ava Temple and Paige Heide each provided goals for the Pilots and Kayla Miller scored another. Jordyn Briggs had two assists.
“This week we started a great win streak for this team and got some really great results versus hard opponents,” says head coach Tory Walker. “The team has started to be rewarded for all the hard work they have been putting in and our systems are starting to show rewards. If we keep working on perfecting the way we want to play, and finetuning our game, we will be a hard team to beat.”
Tierney, a third-year player, says that she is particularly proud of the team.
“We knew this would be a tough week for competition and we fought hard together, allowing us to come out on top,” said Tierney. “We had so many good opportunities, resulting in some beautiful goals, and we were able to showcase our talent and hard work as a team. I am excited to see where the rest of the season takes us as we continue to grow and work together. This was a week to remember!”
Men’s Volleyball
The preseason continues for the Providence men’s volleyball program. With a strategically difficult exhibition schedule, the men’s team found themselves battling a powerhouse of a team when they travelled to Caronport, Saskatchewan to meet the Briercrest Clippers in their infamous “hangar” facility, arguably one of the toughest gym environments in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
Three matches in a span of 20 hours had the Pilots hopping. Nonetheless, they suffered a string of disappointing losses.
On September 30, their scores were 0–3 (15–25, 13–25, 16–25). Sebastian Verdaguer had five kills, one ace, two blocks, and a 71 percent hitting efficiency. Noah Boschman had five kills, one ace, one block, and two digs. Bo Bootsman provided 17 assists.
The next day’s scores were 1–3 (25–12, 18–25, 24–26, 25–27) with 17 kills, one ace, two blocks, and eight digs from Noah Boschman; eight kills, one ace, and one block from Thomas Pain; and 23 assists, one ace, and four figs from Jake Bartels.
Later in the day, the Pilots again fell 1–3 to Caronport (25–13, 16–25, 22–25, 16–25) with Colby Dyck providing seven kills and one ace; Nick Friesen handing out six kills, two digs, and two blocks; and Bo Bootsman adding 22 assists, four aces, and three blocks.
“This weekend we played a strong team and battled through many tough moments,” says first-year player Boschman. “We leave seeing a glimpse of our potential for the season.”
Head coach Cody Quiring shares that Briercrest is a well-coached program.
“There is a reason that they are consistently in the discussion of top teams in the ACAC,” Quiring says. “It was another great set of battles for our squad in a dynamic atmosphere in which we found detailed growth in aspects of our systems that we’ve been working on… I’m proud of the guys for their buy-in to the small and intentional details and the process.”
