NAIT’s women’s soccer Ooks (3-0-1) displayed some early season domination on the weekend with a pair of big wins over the Keyano Huskies (0-4-0).
The women were firing on all cylinders on Saturday in an 8-0 rout that featured a hat-trick from midfielder Kailey Mohn. Kassy Jajczay scored for Ooks in the first minute of the game and, by the 17th, NAIT had six markers on the board. Marissa Webb scored twice on Saturday. Kiera O’Toole and Keara Quinn also got on the board. Kailey Harder made two saves for the shutout.
Sunday’s rematch featured similar firepower from the Ooks. Marissa Webb added her third and fourth goals on the weekend, Kassy Jajczay also scored twice and Hallee Peter added the final goal in the Ooks’ 5-1 victory.
Next up for the women’s Ooks are the Kings University Eagles (0-1-1) and the undefeated Grande Prairie Regional College Wolves (4-0-0). The Ooks face the Eagles at 4 p.m. on Friday. The battle between the undefeated squads kicks off on Saturday at 2 p.m. Both games will take place at NAIT Field.
The men’s Ooks (2-2-0) saw less success in the north, however, dropping both of their matches against the Huskies (4-0-0). The Ooks lost Satur-day’s game 3-1 in an outing that displayed a close score until the final moments of the second half, though the scoreboard may not have accurately reflected the competition.
“We were totally outplayed in the first half. We gave up a goal in that time and it set us back a little bit,” said head coach Charles O’Toole.
The Huskies put their first marker on the board in the 39th minute, but didn’t add their second and third goals until the 88th and 90th minutes. The Ooks lone goal came off the foot of forward Matthew Zima, also in the 90th minute. Ook keeper Tyler Larison saw six shots on goal on Friday. The Ooks man-aged just three of their own.
“They’re a very stacked and very skilled team,” O’Toole said of the 2015 ACAC champion Huskies, “and we were unable to cope with it.”
Sunday’s match saw a similar score. The Ooks dropped their second game of the weekend 4-1. Defenceman Sean O’Toole registered the NAIT tally in the 84th minute when the Ooks were already down 3-0, before Keyano added another in the 90th. Competition was tight in the first half – the Huskies didn’t light up the scoreboard until the game’s 43rd minute – and a NAIT shot that rang off the post nearly tied things up early in the second but a Keyano penalty marker and a couple of “mental lapses” in the second half put the comeback out of reach for the Ooks. O’Toole mentioned a few areas that need work following the weekend’s losses.
“We need to improve our discipline when we do fall behind in games, and we need to be more composed. We have the skill and the players that can do the job, we just need to be more focused,” he said.
That focus will be tested this week-end against King’s University (1-1-0) and Grande Prairie Regional College (0-4-0). The first game kicks off at 6 p.m. on Friday and the second at 4 p.m. on Saturday, both at NAIT Field.
“We gotta get the boys back on the right path again. If we’re a little more focused we should be able to get the job done this weekend,” O’Toole said.
– Connor O’Donovan, Sports Editor
Image from Robert Murray – Fort McMurray Today/Postmedia Network
