Queens 3 Rustlers 0
LLOYDMINSTER — RDC Queens head coach Dave Colley admitted he was a little apprehensive when he looked at the Lakeland College soccer field prior to their Alberta Colleges Women’s Soccer League match Saturday afternoon.
“It was the biggest pitch I’ve ever seen,” he said. ‘And with them being the league leaders at the time I expected to struggle a bit.”
But the RDC players didn’t think so. They turned in a near perfect first half, grabbing a 2-0 lead and went on to a 3-0 victory over the Lakeland Rustlers.
“There was no messing around, it was a joy to behold,” said Colley. “The girls played exactly how we wanted them to. They controlled the ball and they didn’t force anything and took advantage of what they got. It was great to see.”
Tatiana Aspilaga opened the scoring just before 20 minutes into the first half with a perfect corner kick the bent in and found the corner with the Lakeland goalie and a defender getting tangled up on the play.
Kayla Blacquiere took a perfect pass and made it 2-0 before the break.
“We expected them to come at us hard in the second half and they did just that,” said Colley. “They pushed us for the first 30 to 35 minutes, but our midfielders and defence bent, but didn’t break and when they did have a chance Jesse (keeper Jesse Stewart) came up big. Then at about the 35 minute marker Kayla (Blacquiere) took a nice feed from Adi Moyer and rifled a bullet low to the corner and made it 3-0. That deflated Lakeland.”
The win left the Queens with a 2-1-2 record and in a tie for second place in the South Division with Lethbridge. Medicine Hat won twice during the weekend and sit at 4-1.
Rustlers 3 Kings 0
While the Queens were doing everything right to pull out a victory, the Kings did almost everything right and still dropped a 3-0 decision to the Rustlers.
“It’s a cruel game at times,” said Kings head coach Steve Fullarton. “We turned in a fantastic first half . . . it was the best I’ve seen in my time here. We hit the crossbar and just missed on a couple of other chances.”
The Kings also lost team scoring leader Nolan Hamilton with an injury in the first half.
The Kings weren’t as sharp in the second half with the Rustlers scoring early on a header off a corner kick.
“We were a bit sloppy and gave them the free header,” explained Fullarton. “It was 1-0 and we once again had a chance and hit the post. Then for a brief spell we let down and they scored twice.”
The Kings also played with a man short in the second half after losing veteran defender Logan Grenier with a red card.
“The score was a reflection of the game, but we have to keep our heads up and move on.”
RDC had a doubleheader at home this weekend as they host Medicine Hat Saturday and Lethbridge Sunday. The women kick off a 2 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday with the men to follow.