VOYAGEURS SHOW LOTS OF HEART IN WEEKEND LOSSES

LAC LA BICHE – The numbers game caught up to the Portage College Voyageurs Women's Soccer Team this weekend. Playing with no bench players, a significant injury to forward Karyl Cuesta early in the game on Sunday afternoon meant the home squad could field only 10 players versus the Northwestern Polytechnic (NWP) Wolves. Perhaps not surprisingly, the determined but inexperienced squad succumbed 11-0 on a cold, windy afternoon.

Chantelle Kirk led the way for the Wolves, scoring four times while Natalie Kirk added two goals of her own. Voyageurs' tender Esther Bylsma was busy, facing a barrage of shots but did her best to keep her team in the game. Ash Hennenfent played a strong game on the back end and was named Player of the Game for the Voyageurs.

Head Coach Macky Singh, who has repeatedly highlighted that this year is a development season given the inexperience of his team, was pleased with his players' efforts, particularly in light of playing with one less player than the opponent for most of the match.

"The girls – the 11 players and 10 after Karyl got injured, played hard," he said. "They did well, I thought. I'm proud of the women. I'm really proud of their attitude and the effort they put out there."

On Saturday, Saffire Burke was a true gem for the Wolves, notching all three of their goals in a 3-0 win. NWP was full merit for the victory but the shorthanded Voyageurs, playing with no bench at all, showed a much sounder defensive structure and easily played their best game of the season so far. Singh was pleased with his players' effort and ability to bring what they had been working on in practice to game action.

"They players responded well with what I asked them to do, and they did well…we only had 11 players and they did really, really well with no subs and all that stuff," he said after the match. "I can't fault them with their attitude and energy at all."

Players of the Game

September 28:

• NWP: #10 Kendra Taylor
• Portage: #17 Adrian Haub

September 29:

• NWP: #6 Jadyn Varga

Portage: #11 Ash Hennenfent