Brandon teams looking for better finishes in futsal

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This article was published 10/01/2019 (2476 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon University Bobcats have moved to the hard court for one more shot at Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference gold.

Shock spread across the league when the unbeaten Bobcats men’s soccer team didn’t leave the field with their first league crown in October. It would have been the perfect ending for fifth-years Osian Edwards and Taylor Blue, who have been with the program since its inaugural MCAC season in 2014.

A single Canadian Mennonite University Blazers goal left a taste Brandon’s been waiting months to wash out of its mouth, but the wait is over.

After returning to practice this week, Brandon visits the Assiniboine Community College Cougars to kick off the MCAC futsal season today.

“They enjoyed their break. We took a bit longer than the last couple years but we also ran a bit longer,” BU head coach Jesse Roziere said. “They needed the break. They’ve started to understand what we did accomplish, and there’s obviously still some disappointment there so I think that piece keeps them real excited to start.”

The Bobcats went 9-0-1 in the outdoor season, but took home their second silver medal of 2018. The first was as runners-up in futsal last year. BU is a favourite to reach another final, if not win it, this time around.

“We expect to not only play and compete but to win games,” Roziere said. “I think they’re a lot more prepared to step into that role.”

BU also adjusts to a dramatically different sport.

The game is played in gymnasiums, with two 25-minute halves that include stopped time in the final two minutes of each half. Kick-ins replace throw-ins, and substitutions happen on the fly, like hockey.

Futsal is fast-paced and typically much higher scoring than soccer.

It’s also five-on-five, including the goalkeepers, which makes for tough decisions for Roziere.

“One thing that was very noticeable was our depth. In futsal, you use a lot fewer players at a time,” he said. “I think they’re all very excited to show what they can do because they know how competitive it will be to get into the game day lineup, let alone on the court.”

Edwards was an all-conference player in soccer, and is a force on the futsal court.

Roziere — last year’s futsal coach of the year — also has returning futsal all-conference team members in Diego Rodriguez and goalie Dan Harrison.

ACC MEN: The ACC men’s team is beginning a new chapter with Diego Rodriguez — the Bobcat star’s father — making his head coaching debut against the team he was an assistant coach with for the past few seasons.

He’s pleased with his team’s progress through pre-season training, which began before the semester break.

“I’m feeling good. They are doing a good job. From the beginning until now, they’ve improved a lot.” Rodriguez said.

The Cougars struggled to field a complete soccer team, and had to forfeit their last few matches en route to an 0-10-0 season. They will benefit more than most from the five-on-five indoor game, as their eight current players is enough — some teams don’t even play more than seven in big games.

It’s still a competitive conference that’s had ACC’s number for years. The team is in tough to reach the final four in the six-team conference.

Rodriguez hopes its the start of a positive rebuild for the program.

“We are working hard every day, trying to improve and build a program at ACC,” he said. “The players are motivated and want to do good things with the team.”

Rodriguez has two goalkeepers to choose from in Theo Bosc and Leo Alas Donado.

The first-year head coach hopes Edwin Urquilla can provide scoring on the other end, but starting against BU, which beat ACC 13-0 and 20-0 in the fall, makes that a tough task.

“We never know what’s going to happen on the field. Players get nervous or excited for the game,” Rodriguez said. “You can be the best team on the field and lose the game. You never know, so we’ll see.”

ACC WOMEN: On the women’s side, the Cougars are looking to build on an outdoor campaign which came down to the regular-season finale. ACC lost 4-1 to Providence and bowed out of it’s most successful season to date, one that finished with a 2-4-4 record.

The Cougars want more.

“We were unlucky in outdoor,” ACC head coach Mark Murray said. “We’ve got to push on. We can’t just be happy with a good outdoor season. Pick up the points where they are and stop dropping points where we don’t need to lose them.”

Murray plans to run a defensive team and lean on goalkeeper and captain Kendall Omeljanow to keep the Cougars in games.

“She really is a top futsal goalkeeper,” Murray said. “We’re strong from back to forward, it’s just putting it all together. I don’t think it’s on the players, it’s on me and the coaching staff, because there’s no excuse with the players we have.”

The Cougars relied on Jerra Green to fill the net in outdoor, and she is expected to go off even more than she did on the pitch. She was second in the soccer league with 11 regular-season markers, and her powerful left leg could light it up on the futsal court.

“As well as we had done in outdoor, Jerra was a big part of that,” Murray said. “She was putting the ball in the net for us. We’ll look for her to do that on the futsal court. She’s a big, strong girl and I think a lot of teams will have trouble with her again.”

The team’s midfield anchor, Aziza Kinnarath, is studying in Winnipeg, and will be available for away games.

“I don’t expect her to travel down for a 50-minute game,” Murray said of the former Bobcat. “Aziza is quality enough that I can make exceptions for her. We’ll have her for the Winnipeg games, and she’ll play well for us.”

Kinnarath will miss both contests against her former team, including the opener tonight.

BU WOMEN: The Bobcat women’s team also wants an alternate ending to its season, after a 2-0 loss to CMU in the outdoor gold-medal match.

Brandon only took two weeks off when soccer ended before hitting the gym. It’s ready to see new faces on the court now.

“The first game of the season’s always an exciting time. We’re playing somewhat familiar competition,” BU coach Scott Haddow said. “They’ve played us tough in the past in futsal, they beat us last year so we want to have a bit of redemption.

“We have a lot of players in their last season with BU, and they’re looking to go out on top.”

The team is without fifth-year Jaycee Castle, who underwent reconstructive knee surgery after the soccer final.

Still, the team has two all-conference soccer players in Chelsea Plett and fifth-year Jade Barrault. Barrault missed the soccer playoffs with an abdomen injury, but she says she’s ready to go.

“It’s my fifth year, I’m not missing it for that,” she said.

Barrault’s had enough experience to figure out the futsal game. She knows how to best attack defences, and has a feeling about who might shine this season.

“Less space, we really utilize our space in outdoor and there just isn’t space and room to run,” Barrault said. “You have to have a good first touch, and you have to be able to use your teammates, trust them, move and fill space.

“I think Ali (Allison Cruse) and Hasana (Church) are amazing players and underrated in the league. Indoor is where they really shine with their first touch and ball movement, so I think they’re really a threat.”

The Bobcats and Cougars get the 10-game season underway at ACC tonight with the women at 6:15 p.m., and men at 8. The playoffs take place March 9 and 10 in Winnipeg.

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