Griffins put 6-0 winter season record on the line with visit to Vancouver for three matches
Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Choosing to stay in Canada for their annual Reading Week tour this year, the MacEwan Griffins women's soccer team will test themselves against three of the top teams in the Canada West Pacific Division this weekend in Vancouver.
Set to play the University of Fraser Valley on Friday (5 p.m. MT), Victoria on Saturday (8:15 p.m. MT) and host UBC on Sunday (6 p.m. MT), the Griffins will sharpen their skills against three playoff teams from last fall, including the defending national champion Thunderbirds.
"All three programs are in our Canada West conference, so to be able to play against some tough competition in February is always exciting for us," said head coach Dean Cordeiro.
"It's a little different than past years where we travel international, but we felt this was a good opportunity to stay a little bit closer to home, get some good matches in and also have a little bit of a different experience."
The Griffins are having a stellar winter exhibition season so far, sporting a 6-0 record, which includes a pair of 2-0 wins over cross-town rival Alberta. Most recently, they beat the Pandas in the Snow Cup final at Foote Field on Feb. 1 to capture that tournament for a second-straight year.
"We're really liking what we're seeing from our younger players who are getting more of an opportunity to showcase their talents," said Cordeiro. "That's what we use the winter season for. We want to battle test everybody and see where everybody's at, so we have a good idea coming into next year where we stand.
"We've had some tough matches and we're excited about what the B.C. games represent."
It will also be MacEwan's first opportunity to play outside since they hosted the Canada West final four in November.
"The one thing about our winter season so far, with it being in the domes we play in, it's all controlled climate and we're not dealing with any elements of any kind," said Cordeiro. "It's been pretty nice. Now we've got to get ready to play in rain and cooler temperatures. It looks like it's going to be anywhere from 3-7 degrees. That will be a bit of a shift for the team."
Following this weekend, the Griffins have two more matches on the winter season docket: March 7 at Alberta (12 p.m., Foote Field) and March 14 vs. REX (12 p.m., Foote Field).
