Huskies men’s soccer team hopes to secure playoff spot
For the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s soccer team, job one this weekend is locking up a playoff spot.
"We really have to get back to just being us and focusing on our job," said coach Bryce Chapman following a team practice Tuesday.
The Huskies are preparing for their final two games of the regular season, both against the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
“Right now we're just worrying about making sure were in the best form and best version of ourselves. And then we'll take everything in account as the week goes on,” said Chapman.
The Huskies find themselves occupying the final playoff spot in the Canada-West Central division, just three points back of their opponents this weekend.
But the green and white are only two points up on the MacEwan University Griffins. So the message this week is keep the focus on Alberta to get a win, and not have to rely on other teams for help.
"Honestly, we're just trying to focus on ourselves. And control what we can control. Our performance against Alberta is all that we can really control. So we’re working hard to improve ourselves and work on ourselves, rather than rely on other teams to help us out," said midfielder and captain Kwame Opoku-addai.
As a team, the Huskies are tied for second in Canada-west in goals scored. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears have been tough to crack, allowing only four goals all season.
“We'll stick to our DNA. I think over the last number of years, we have really set a standard with our program playing on the front foot. We don't want to sit and absorb and be dictated to," Chapman said.
Both goalkeepers, Henry Bremer and Marcus Baxter, have seen significant time on the field this season.
"When you start getting into the final weekends and into playoffs, you really want to make sure you have both goalkeepers going. And that was our goal from the beginning," Chapman said.
"In case one of us gets injured, the other guy wasn't like just on the bench the whole time. So we’re both always in action and I think it’s actually quite a good system,” Bernier said.
The Huskies will face Alberta in Edmonton on Friday before returning to Griffiths Stadium on Sunday for their final regular season game, hoping they will lock up a spot in the post season along the way.
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