September 27 – Women’s Soccer – MHC 0 x 6 SAIT

On a slow weekend for the Rattlers, only the soccer teams travelled to Calgary to face SAIT. The women had the tough task of playing against the second-ranked team nationally, and the result showed why. In just the 4th minute, SAIT opened the scoring through #12 Tiona Paton. The Rattlers managed to keep up with the Trojans for the first 45 minutes, going into halftime down 2-0. However, in a strong second half, the home team produced a powerful offensive surge to score four more times, handing the Rattlers a tough 6-0 loss.

Players of the Game:
MHC: #12 Elisa McArthur
SAIT: #11 Sofia Peña

September 27 – Men’s Soccer – MHC 2 x 1 SAIT

Saturday afternoon in Calgary featured a clash between the #7 and #8 nationally ranked teams. The visiting Rattlers sat second in the ACAC South standings, just behind the Trojans. Only one goal differential separated the two sides in the standings, with SAIT holding the slight edge.
The game began with both teams feeling each other out in a very physical midfield battle. Three minutes before the end of the first half, a long ball was played into the Rattlers’ defensive third. After losing the midfield battle, the Rattlers conceded on a counterattack.

Coming out for the second half with a few lineup changes, the Rattlers played more defensively in midfield and increased their pace on the wings. Until Joao Cintra was stopped with a foul just outside the box, the game remained 1-0 for the Trojans. From that free kick, #9 Aleksa Bijelic struck a beautiful shot with no chance for the keeper in the 71st minute. Three minutes later, Aleksa found #12 Joao Cintra, who placed a perfect ball from outside the box to make it 2-1 for the Rattlers.
When the score seemed settled, the Trojans were awarded a penalty kick in the 88th minute. Rob Woodroffe-Brown, who had SAIT’s only goal of the game, stepped up but was denied by Rattlers keeper Maksymilian Slaweta. His brilliant save to the right preserved the win and kept the Rattlers unbeaten.

Players of the Game:
MHC: #9 Aleksa Bijelic
SAIT: #17 Esrom Yohannes

Men’s and women’s soccer return to action next weekend with away games against the Olds Broncos and the Red Deer Kings and Queens.

Check out the complete schedule at acac.ab.ca.