Providence set for MCAC Soccer Championships

The Providence Pilots are hoping to add a Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference soccer championship to their trophy case this weekend.

The school has been shut out of adding a provincial banner to their walls in soccer since 2014, but could be on pace to break that drought this season.

The women’s Providence team finished with just one loss in a 12-game regular season, earning semi-final/final hosting rights ahead of second place Brandon.

Games will take place in Otterburne, just across from the campus. Providence will take on fourth-seeded Canadian Mennonite University at noon on Oct. 31. Brandon is playing St Boniface in the other semi-final, with the finals taking place 1:30 p.m. Nov. 1.

On the men’s side of the bracket, a dramatic finish on the final day of the regular season powered the Pilots into the second seed, even as their semi-final match-up was locked in. The Pilots scored three goals in the last 10 minutes of their match, including twice in stoppage time, to flip a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 win over St Boniface.

Two of those goals came off the foot of Mathiaz Buenfil, who was named the conference player of the week. He had a strong game in Providence’s 3-0 win over Brandon Oct. 24, to lock the Pilots into the second semi-final.

“Mathiaz played a vital role for the team this weekend. We are all aware of his hard work and commitment to the team and this weekend it paid off with some stellar performances,” head coach Giovanni Benitez Friesen said in an MCAC news release.

“Hopefully these games and performances give the group belief for next weekend playoffs, and I’m sure Mathiaz will be ready.”

The two teams will resume hostilities in the 2/3 semi-final 2 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex. Top seeded CMU will be taking on Brandon in the other semi-final. The final will kick off at 12:30 p.m. the next day.