Brandon squeaks MCAC soccer hosting rights past Providence Pilots
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Hosting rights for the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference women’s soccer championships came down to the final weekend of the regular season.
With the top seed hosting the final bracket of the season, Providence needed a clean three points over Brandon Oct. 18 to nick the tournament and bring it to Otterburne.
A furious comeback after a poor first half fell just short, as the Pilots erased a 2-0 deficit with a pair of late goals, but couldn’t find the winner.
After a penalty kick drew the Pilots to within one, the team was able to draw a free kick just at the top of the box. Olivia Swaby scored an absolute beauty, going over the wall while keeping the ball down, and setting up a memorable finish.
The Pilots were down to 10 players after a red card following the penalty, as the team tried to rush Brandon into re-starting the game quickly. The Bobcats were in no hurry, and when a Pilots player pushed a Brandon player out of the way, the ref showed a straight red.
The referee only added 2.5 minutes of time after the 90 minutes was up, with Providence head coach Tory Walker rushing onto the field to ask why more time wasn’t given to let his team try and pull off the shocking come-back.
Brandon forward Jorja Hoad was brilliant throughout the match, using her pace with the ball to give Providence fits, especially during counter-attacks. She even scored on a brilliant solo rush effort to extend the Brandon lead.
A 9-0 dominating Pilots win the next day at Canadian Mennonite University wasn’t enough, as the Bobcats finished one win ahead in the standings.
Both the men’s and women’s MCAC soccer championships will be hosted in Brandon this weekend. Providence will play St Boniface in the semi-finals. Brandon and Providence have split their season series this year, with each team recording a win, loss and draw.
Providence’s men’s team finished in fourth place in the standings and will be playing top-seeded Brandon in the semi-finals. The Bobcats men’s team are 10-2 on the season, finishing just ahead of CMU.
Pilots volleyball will kick off their home schedule Oct. 31 at the Niverville Resource and Rec Centre.