Bobcats set to host soccer playoffs

Forget the bigger picture, Brogan Henry just wants to live in the moment she and her teammates worked for all season.

While a third straight championship meeting between the Brandon University Bobcats and Providence Pilots has appeared inevitable the entire Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference women’s soccer season, the fifth-year striker is only worried about Saturday’s semifinal.

The top-ranked Bobcats host the No. 4 Canadian Mennonite University Blazers at the Healthy Living Centre field at noon.

“Our mentality is one game at a time. We can’t even think about that second game before we win our first game,” Henry said, adding the group hasn’t discussed the idea of becoming the first Bobcat team to claim three straight titles.

“We just take it game by game and we know we’re going to be in tough this weekend no matter what.

“At the end of the day, a win is a win and if we get that three-peat, that’s going to be awesome, but we have to band together and make it happen.”

The Bobcats can approach the weekend with whatever attitude they want, but this is the most obvious two-horse race the league has ever seen.

Brandon rolled through the regular season with a 10-1-1 record, splitting the season series 1-1-1 with Providence on a 4-2 win, a 4-3 loss and a 2-2 draw last week.

BU won its other nine games by a combined 65-0, including 24-0 against CMU.

Henry said a big reason for the offensive success was a formation change, creating a lethal two-headed attack with her and fellow all-conference forward Jorja Hoad at the top with yet another all-star in Kenadie Janzen in the midfield.

“Our team has been passing good up front,” Henry said. “Me and Jorja, we’ve never really played with each other because we’re both strikers. This year, Diego gave us the chance to play together and we play really good off each other. “

Of course, the Bobcats’ defence was equally impressive, allowing their goalkeepers to record clean sheets without making a save, or handling just a couple of routine shots.

“We have a lot of strong fourth- and fifth-years, like Tarin (Ballan) is really strong on our backline and Molly (MacPherson-Blair) as our team captain … they bring a sense of calmness to everyone. Especially Tarin directs the full backline out there and they help us up front,” Henry said.

The other semifinal features Providence as a considerable favourite, though their season series with the St. Boniface Les Rouges grew closer. The Pilots won 4-1 and 4-0 before tying 1-1 last week.

They meet Saturday at noon at Cougars Field.

Barring upsets, Henry knows the final will be a tough battle. BU beat Providence 2-1 in each of the last two championship games, with the second requiring a magnificent penalty kick save by Bobcat keeper Josie Black.

Henry said the Pilots’ speed up front poses a big challenge, evidenced by the rare times BU has trailed this season.

Looking back, the team’s lone loss is the game that gives Henry the most confidence entering the playoffs.

“It showed a lot of strength that we came back,” Henry said of the game in which they trailed 2-0 and 3-1. “We got three goals in the second half and that honestly was really beneficial to our team to prove to us that we can come out of deficits where our team has struggled in the past.

“Our team hasn’t really had to come back from things before and usually when we were down in other seasons, we were down. But this year, our team has a different mindset, so it’s been really good.”

The league champion heads to nationals in Red Deer, Alta., on Nov. 5-8.

BU MEN ROLLING

INTO POST-SEASON

The Bobcats dropped the first game of the men’s soccer season 4-0 to the Blazers, and fell 2-1 to Les Rouges nearly a month ago.

Since then, they’re on a six-game winning streak and carry a perfect 6-0 home record into championship weekend.

They face the No. 4 Pilots on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

The Bobcats got the matchup they wanted, considering they swept the season series with the Pilots on 5-1, 2-1 and 3-2 victories. Of course, the blowout was at home.

“They have a few key players and can move the ball pretty well. What’s good for us is playing on our home field. When we play here, we don’t like to lose and always seem to have pretty good margin wins, so we hope that can bring us success,” said fifth-year midfielder Bryson Haywood.

The hometown hero was named to the all-conference team, as well as the True Sport team for his leadership on and off the pitch.

“It was pretty great just being my last year, a good way to end it for personal terms,” Haywood said, adding he’s hoping to take care of business early on Saturday and rest up for a massive championship game.

“It’d be nice to get a good lead because the other semifinal between St. Boniface and CMU is a pretty tough one, so I imagine they’ll play with all their starters. If we can get some high scores and make some subs, it’d be nice.”

CMU and USB play at Cougars Field at 2:30 p.m.

The Bobcats lost last year’s final 1-0 to Les Rouges, but weren’t the same beast they are this year. They played without two-time league MVP Camilo Rodriguez, who came back this season and once again led the MCAC in scoring.

He earned an all-conference nod along with midfielder Matheus Ruffini and goalkeeper Matheus Souza.

While four Bobcats were recognized for their skill, Haywood said his team’s best quality this season has been its effort.

“Even if we don’t have all the possession and might not be the better team, the effort is what really matters in this league,” he said. “When the best teams go at it, the one that really wants it most, gets it.”

The finals are on Sunday at the HLC field. The women kick off at noon, with the men following at 2:30 p.m.

The league champion heads to Saint-Lambert, Que., for nationals on Nov. 5-8.

FREE KICKS: Admission is $5 per day, with children 12 and under getting in for free. Fans are encouraged to bring chairs as there is limited bleacher seating … League awards will be presented at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Saturday at the HLC field, following the second match.

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