Medicine Hat College sends both soccer teams to ACAC championships
Both Rattlers squads qualified for the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference tournament this weekend, a first in several years for the program.
The Medicine Hat College Rattlers have qualified both their men's and women's soccer teams for the ACAC championships this weekend, a milestone head coach Damir Omerovic said hasn't happened in several years. The women return after at least eight years away, finishing the regular season 7-4-1, five points ahead of the Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks for the final south playoff spot. The men secured their berth on a tiebreaker over the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings after a four-game winning streak with four straight shutouts in October, and enter as runners-up from last season looking to finish the job.
Both teams enter as the third seed from the South and will open the tournament Friday against the Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder, with the men playing at 10 a.m. and the women at 12:30 p.m. Concordia beat the Rattlers in both preseason meetings this year, outscoring them in a 3-1 and a 3-0 result for the men, while the Concordia women won a preseason match 1-0.
Men's captain Joao Nascimento, a fourth-year winger from Brazil, said the team has grown in confidence and chemistry since the preseason losses and is aiming to return to the final and win gold. Women's captain Alivia Rybchinski, a fourth-year centre back from Saskatoon, said qualifying had been a long-sought goal and described the team's bond as close-knit. Both coaches and captains said the squads are preparing to compete rather than simply enjoy the experience, with Omerovic noting there are no easy games at the championship level.
The ACAC championships will be held at the Calgary Villains FC Dome.
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