Cougars start futsal season with long-awaited win

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This article was published 16/01/2023 (1176 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Expressions were unusually mixed as the buzzer sounded on the Assiniboine Community College Cougars’ first victory of a long 2022-23 season.

Captain Theo Manias breathed a sigh of relief and hoisted his arms into the air. Striker Paulo Costa Pinto fell to the ground like he’d won a title. Coach Chris McLachlan clapped like he’d been there before as the Cougars’ substitutes rushed the court.

And Roberto Alonzo hugged goalkeeper Gerardo Alas, who certainly kept the Providence Pilots from reversing the 7-3 score in their Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference men’s soccer opener at ACC on Saturday morning.

“It feels great,” said wing Victor Akinsunmade, who played centre-back during ACC’s winless outdoor soccer campaign.

“We’ve been training very hard. We love it, have been trying to get our first win … it’s good to be back on the pitch and it was a good game.”

The Cougars’ depth was a clear weakness during the outdoor season, and while that can wreak havoc on a futsal team as well, they have the top-end talent to contend.

A tired ACC lineup lost 6-1 to Canadian Mennonite University in the evening as Matheus Aquino collected a hat trick, but a 1-1 start has ACC tied for second as only the Brandon University Bobcats won both their games.

The crazy part is the Cougars lost their two best futsal players when brothers Kevin and Daniel Lopez left after the soccer season.

“Suddenly we have lost two good players but we still have plenty of other players that can step in, even just for a few minutes. It has changed our plan but … we still have a good team,” Manias said.

“It’s so great to play with those guys. Everybody’s cheering for each other.”

Manias manned the midfield last semester and has settled in as the lone defender in a 1-2-1 formation.

The French import can still join the attack, and did so, blasting home a fantastic finish with the outside of his right foot while streaking down the left sideline to make it 5-3 late against Providence.

Pinto and Akinsunmade added a pair of goals each and Alonzo scored the other.

That foursome will play the bulk of the minutes in front of Alas, once Alonzo returns from a pending suspension for the red card he took against CMU.

Coach Chris McLachlan expects his group to play physically all season, and will have to live with a schedule full of single-day doubleheaders.

“A lot of 50/50 balls with Roberto and Victor playing wing or Theo in the back, they’re stepping in and we’re just winning it based on size and aggression,” McLachlan said. “The team that plays us, they’re going to leave the game with a lot of bumps and bruises whether they win or not.

“Later in the (Providence) game, all that hard work the guys put in being physical paid off … because I think they were tired and a little bit reluctant to compete as hard for the ball.”

It was just one win in an eight-game season, so there’s a lot of work left to make the final four, which is set for Feb. 18-19 at CMU.

But that one felt good for a group that needed one. Especially for Manias, who missed two penalty kicks, one after scoring before the whistle and being forced to retake.

“It was such a huge release to make that first win for ACC,” Manias said. “Between outdoor and indoor we were really looking for that win so it’s nice to finally give this to the school.”

WEEKEND RECAP

The defending champion Bobcats started strong with a 7-3 win over CMU as Jordan Dill and Bryson Haywood each scored twice.

Camilo Rodriguez bagged three goals to push the Bobcats to a second win, 6-4 over the St. Boniface Les Rouges.

St. Boniface beat Providence 7-5 in the other game.

At the Healthy Living Centre, Kylie Van De Woestyne netted two massive goals to push the Bobcat women to a 2-1 win over the defending champion Les Rouges.

Van De Woestyne also scored, along with Jocelyn Heald and Deja Newell in a 4-2 opening win over CMU.

The ACC women lost 5-0 to Providence in its first game, then fell 6-3 to CMU in the afternoon. Kendra Mansoff, Caitlyn Stevenson and Emma Gamache found the net for the Cougars.

Les Rouges dropped the Pilots 7-4 in the other contest.

MCAC futsal returns next Sunday when Providence hosts the men’s matches in Niverville and St. Boniface puts on the women’s slate.

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