Bobcats chase MCAC soccer three-peat

The Brandon University Bobcats have earned a chance to achieve Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference dynasty status.

The BU women’s soccer team opens the season against Canadian Mennonite University on Sunday at Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex at 1 p.m., as the two-time defending champion of the five-team league.

They dominated for two full seasons on the outdoor pitch and added a 2025 MCAC futsal title in March. The question is whether or not they’re satisfied, as that will dictate whether the most talented, experienced roster in the league can get it done one more time.

“The key here is to try to keep everybody motivated,” said head coach Diego Rodriguez Sr.

“We are looking for nationals. We know we have a competition here, but every practice we try to do it harder because we’re looking and thinking for nationals.”

Two factors are working in BU’s favour this year. For one, 10 players are entering their final season and certainly want to go out on a high note. The second is that while they’ve attended the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national tournament twice, they’ve yet to win a game there.

The championship that used to be the league’s peak is now simply base camp for the Bobcats, the spot they need to reach for another shot on the national stage, this year in Red Deer, Alta.

First, it’s another 12-game regular season, including a rematch of the last two finals for their home opener on Sept. 13, as the Providence Pilots visit the Healthy Living Centre field.

“The last few weeks have been a lull, almost, but it’s been a lot of grinding, so this weekend is going to be exciting to see how our work has paid off,” said goalkeeper Josie Black, last year’s final four MVP.

The former Swan Valley Tiger is one of the many Bobcats moving on after 2025-26. She was there for a few near misses in 2021 and 2022, then played a pivotal role as BU won back-to-back titles for the first time since 2016-17.

“Our first two years, we were a really talented and skilled team; it would just come down to it, and we’d miss that communication in a few places,” Black said.

“In the last couple of years, our experience together, we know each other so well, and it clicked, finally.”

Black has a few veteran centre-backs in front of her, including Tarin Ballan and Molly MacPherson-Blair, with Saskatchewan natives Sofia Kalyar and Sara Switzer pushing for time on the backline in their rookie seasons.

Rodriguez said he has eight defenders he’s comfortable playing and will roll through them as needed to maintain intensity.

He is pushing Victoria Gonzalez-Castillo up to the midfield to join Brogan Henry and Kenadie Janzen as one of the strongest trios in the MCAC to occupy the middle of the pitch.

Up front, last year’s league-leading scorer Jorja Hoad (14 goals) still carries the most important skill in the sport: speed. They also have the runner-up, Keashae Masters, who netted 11 goals, ready to light it up again.

“I’m always telling (Hoad) she needs to improve every single day about movements and things,” Rodriguez Sr. said. “She is the top scorer, so other teams are not going to be easy on her.”

New this year, the No. 1 team in the regular season hosts the final four on Oct. 25-26, rather than a predetermined host. If BU earns that right, it remains to be seen where it’ll play.

The Bobcats currently have the rest of their home games scheduled for either the HLC field or Cougars Field, located at the Maple Leaf Foods Sports Complex.

The league scheduled BU and Assiniboine College home matches on different dates to allow the Bobcats to book the facility if they wish. AC’s contract with the city grants the college priority access to the new artificial turf pitch.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

» Instagram: @thomasfriesen5