Queens within reach of first place
The RDC Queens have their sights set on first place in the Alberta Colleges Women’s Soccer League’s South Division and they did what they had to during the weekend to be able to reach that goal.
The Queens beat the SAIT Trojans 1-0 Saturday and the Olds College Broncos 3-0 Sunday to go into the final two games of the regular season within reach of the first-place Medicine Hat Rattlers.
The RDC squads host Medicine Hat Saturday and Lethbridge Sunday.
The Queens, 6-0-2, will need to win both matches to take top spot and earn a bye in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, the RDC Kings, 4-1-3, tied SAIT 2-2 and came from 2-0 down to defeat Olds 4-2, which moved them into second place, behind SAIT, 7-1-1.
Paula Dadensky scored her 11th goal of the season for the Queens against SAIT on her own rebound in the second half.
“It was a physically tough game with both teams losing players,” said Queens head coach Dave Colley, who lost midfield star Claire Wallace in the first half.
“That kind of reflected the desire by both teams,” said Colley. “But our girls were determined and once Paula gave us the lead we shut them down. It was a grinding game, not at all pretty, but a real solid effort.”
On Sunday, Kayla Keenan scored once and set up goals by Hailee Peter and Amber Regnier. Jesse Stewart recorded her seventh shutout of the season.
The Queens led 2-0 at the half, but Colley was forced to make some changes because of the size of the field.
“They have a small field and very bumpy so we had to go away from our usual style and play more direct and use the long pass and it worked well,” said Colley, who also used three substitutes in the second half.
Cori Van der Voort was player of the match against SAIT and Tatianna Aspillaga against Olds.
Cale Jacobs and Nolan Hamilton scored once each against SAIT, who tied the game in stoppage time in the second half.
“Overall we didn’t play that well and kind of gave it away,” said Kings head coach Steve Fullarton. “But it was also the first time we played on field turf and we struggled with that at times.”
The Kings fell behind Olds 2-0 at the half, before storming back to get two goals from Hamilton and one each from Jeremy Gopal and Logan Grenier.
“The first half was our worst half this season,” said Fullarton. “We struggled with the small field and we got what we deserved. But we had a chat at the half and the guys dug deep and played with a lot of heart and desire in the second half.”
The Kings need at least a tie against Medicine Hat and Lethbridge to secure second place.
On Saturday, Olds beat Lakeland 1-0 in women’s play and lost 4-1 on the men’s side.
Queens 78 Ambrose 27
The basketball Queens finally hit the win column in their exhibition season as they handled the ACAL (Alberta Colleges Athletic League) Ambrose College squad of Calgary 78-27 as part of the Ramada Inns Royalty Classic at RDC Saturday.
“I was happy with our overall effort,” said Queens head coach Mike Woollard. “We were able to move the ball and get into our running game and it started on the defensive end. We played with intensity and put a lot of pressure on the ball.”
Miranda Honey and Melissa Woolley had 13 points each for the Queens, who open their ACAC schedule Oct. 26 at home against Grant MacEwan.
The final game on the men’s side of the tournament saw Lethbridge down Olds 77-65. The RDC Kings finished with a 3-0 record while Lethbridge was 2-1, Olds 1-2 and Canadian University College of Lacombe 0-3.
Team Alberta 5 Queens 1
The RDC Queens hockey team faced the toughest opposition they’ll see this season as they dropped a 5-1 decision to Team Alberta, who plays in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, at the WinSport Arena Sunday.
Jade Petrie scored for RDC, who led 1-0 after the opening period and trailed 5-1 after 40 minutes.
“We got caught chasing the puck for a spell in the second period and they scored three times in a four-minute period,” explained Queens head coach Trevor Keeper. “But that was the best team we’ll face all season. They have a number of players who played in the Olympics, NCAA and university hockey in Canada. When they crank it up they move the puck better than any team we’ll see.
“As well they’re used to the Olympic sized ice surface and they used that to their advantage.”
The Queens got outstanding goaltending from Camille Trautman, who finished with 46 saves.
“She was getting wore down, but our backup (Caitlyn Janzen) is out with a concussion after a car accident, so Camille had to go the distance,” said Keeper.
The Queens open ACAC play Thursday when they host Grant MacEwan at 7 p.m. at the Arena.
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