COACH, PLAYERS STILL POSITIVE AFTER PAIR OF LOPSIDED LOSSES

LAC LA BICHE & ST. ALBERT – Good things come in bunches – flowers, grapes, a litter of kittens. Unfortunately for the Portage College Voyageurs, so do bad things, such as goals against. The rookie-laden and short-staffed women's soccer squad suffered a pair of losses on the weekend – 10-0 at home versus The King's University (TKU) Eagles Friday and then 18-0 in St. Albert against the NAIT Ooks on Saturday – where goals against seemed to come all at once.

"It was tough overall," said Head Coach Macky Singh after the pair of matches.

On Friday evening in Lac La Biche, the Voyageurs actually kept the Eagles from soaring – or scoring – for long stretches. However, they also gave up goals in flurries, an appropriate word given the rain and frigid temperatures at the Bold Center Soccer Field: four in eight minutes in the first half, and four in 15 to conclude the second half. Player of the Game Dayla Armstrong led the way for TKU with three markers, while Demaris Hodges chipped in two. Reanna Brownlee played a strong game for the Voyageurs and was named Player of the Game for her squad.

Twelve hours after the game ended, the team was on a bus bound for St. Albert, to take on the second place Ooks. With a limited roster due to a couple of injuries and the tight turnaround, the result was perhaps predictable.

"The (injuries were) challenging and also the schedule," said Singh. "Not much of a rest and all that makes it a challenge for us. But it is what it is, and I can't fault the ladies at all."

Indeed, as he has been preaching all season, the experienced head coach has stressed the importance of the process and not the results on the scoreboard – at least for this year.

"At the end of the day, we're not looking at…the results, we're looking at small improvements, individually and as a team and they certainly showed that," said Singh. "Their resilience to come out and play every weekend, it's a credit to them. It's tough but they don't quit, and they don't give up and they just keep plugging and that's all we can ask."

Players of the Game

October 11:

• TKU: #16 Dayla Armstrong
• Portage: #16 Reanna Brownlee

October 12:

Portage: #3 Brooklyn Haub