Providence Pilots return to MCAC soccer mountaintop

It was clear the Providence Pilots had been waiting a long time to hoist a Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference women’s soccer championship.

After three consecutive years of heartbreak in the finals, the Pilots finally captured their first championship in more than a decade, defeating St Boniface 3-0 in the finals, hosted on an unusually warm Nov. 1 in Otterburne, prompting emotional celebrations from the entire team.

The Pilots last won a Manitoba championship in 2013. For head coach Tory Walker, who joined the school in 2015, it’s the first time he’s gotten to hoist the MCAC trophy.

“It’s a surreal feeling,” Walker said after the win and a post-game water shower from his players.

“The team played unbelievable today. They stuck with it, I’m so proud… I feel like the last few years we’ve been building to this moment.”

Providence finished the regular season with just a single loss, dominated the semi-finals against Canadian Mennonite University 8-0 and continued that strong standard of play into the finals.

All three goals came in the first half, as the Pilots dominated possession, holding Les Rouges to just a couple corner kick chances throughout the match.

“We attacked the game from minute one, and didn’t stop until the 90th,” Walker said, showing off custom team sweaters with the motto ‘give yourself a chance.’

“(It was a) massively, solid, solid, performance from our group… We didn’t even give up much. The group just stuck with it. We played our style and that’s all I could ask for as a coach.”

Halle Owen opened the scoring with a powerful header, finding a bit of space on a corner kick near the penalty spot. Hayley Medeiros converted after Owen made a nice run into the box and slipped a pass in front of the net to make it 2-0 just a few minutes later. Hannah Degueldre closed out the scoring on another corner kick later in the half, this time to the far side of the box, where she controlled the ball with a great first touch and slotted it to the keepers’ left.

Excellence on set pieces has been a trademark of Providence teams over the past few years, and it showed in the final.

“Day two of training camp is when we started to get into set pieces, I tried to convince them this is going to be a big part of playing when the games start getting tight,” Walker said with a chuckle.

“As a coach, they listened to me, which I’m thankful for and they proved me right.”

Walker called the performance in the final a “complete team win,” shouting out the second half substitutes for coming onto the pitch and continuing to play the same way as the starters. The team had just three freshmen this season, with most of the roster tasting some kind of heartbreak in previous finals.

Jayda Codling was named the playoffs most valuable player. The midfielder has moved up into a more attacking role throughout the season.

“Heading into this, we were so mentally prepared,” Codling said after the championship.

“We were ready to be first on balls, we were ready to attack this game and that’s what gave us the step up against USB. We came fighting and we came with so much aggression. We knew if we dominated them in the first half, we’d be able to keep the lead and be able to dominate them in the second as well.”

Fourth-year player Serena Negrich had lost three years in the final and finally tasted a championship with the Pilots.

“It is sweet, sweet victory, that’s for sure,” Negrich said with a big smile after the match.

“I can’t think of a team that’s more deserving.”

While the MCAC player of the year was held off the scoresheet, she was all over the pitch in the final, driving with the ball and organizing the Providence press.

“(Coach Walker) instils in us a relentless and aggressive mindset,” Negrich said.

“We always try to never give up and be athletic and aggressive is our mindset through and through.”

After relishing in the provincial win, the focus will shift to nationals. Providence will represent the MCAC at the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national championships, set to begin Nov. 11.

“We just want to make our mark and represent MCAC as best we can,” Negrich said.

“We’re happy to go out there and play the Prov way, just like we’ve been doing all season.”

While the team doesn’t have any Canadian championships, they do have some experience at a nationals environment, claiming the National Christian Colleges Athletic Association division 2 title in 2023 in Florida.

“This group loves playing with joy, that’s our motto,” Codling said.

“We love playing with each other and we know at the end of the day we are here to play with glory for God and for each other.”

In the men’s final, CMU completed back-to-back championships, defeating St Boniface in 2-0 in the final. Providence fell 3-1 to Les Rouges in the semi-finals.