Playoff positioning on the line for Griffins as they visit cross-town rival Alberta on Saturday
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
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3 | 0 | 3 |
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2 | 1 | 3 |
Team Stats
Alberta
| Game Statistics | MacEwan University | Alberta |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 16 (10) | 21 (12) |
| Saves | 9 | 7 |
| Fouls | 12 | 8 |
| Corner Kicks | 3 | 8 |
| Offsides | 4 | 2 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – They will leave the potential scoreboard watching up to others.
Busy instead honing the finer details of the game they need to be successful this weekend, the MacEwan Griffins women's soccer team will be vying for playoff positioning when they visit cross-town rival Alberta on Saturday (12 p.m., Foote Field, Canada West TV).
After a weekend sweep over Lethbridge Oct. 4-5, MacEwan clinched a playoff spot and moved to 8-3-1 in the standings. That currently has them third in the Prairie Division, three points behind second-place Mount Royal (9-2-1) and three points ahead of fourth-place Saskatchewan (7-4-1).
MRU plays against division leader Calgary (10-0-2) on Friday (7 p.m.). Should they manage the upset, the Cougars would clinch at least second because they have the goals for/against tiebreaker on MacEwan. But if they lose, the Griffins would pull even with them for second with a win over Alberta on Saturday.
Second place is highly-coveted because it would mean hosting a Canada West quarter-final playoff match instead of going on the road.
Although the Pandas (4-5-3) have been eliminated from playoff contention, they will be at their best on Senior Day trying to play spoiler.
"We ticked that first box of clinching playoffs with two games to go, which we're extremely proud of," said Griffins head coach Dean Cordeiro. "But now it's about seeding. We've got our eyes set on hosting that Canada West quarter-final.
"We've got a couple games to go here, but we're going to make sure we're ready to go versus a very strong Pandas team on Saturday. They'll be honouring their seniors, and they'll want nothing more than to cause us some issues. So, we've got to be at our best. If we go out there and do our thing, we'll be one step closer to our goal, but we're going to need a 90-minute performance, that's for sure."
Saskatchewan, meanwhile, has been red hot, going unbeaten in their last six games and are withing striking distance of passing the Griffins for third should MacEwan stumble down the stretch. On a bye this weekend, the Huskies will finish the regular season with a home-and-home against 3-8-1 Regina Oct. 17-18.
The Griffins' final regular season game will be a home match vs. Alberta on Oct. 18 (12 p.m., Clarke Stadium).
"We can't control things that are out of our hands," said Cordeiro. "The scoreboard watching is what it is. The bottom line is we've got to take care of business. I feel if we go and take care of things, we will control our destiny.
"For us, the only thing we can control is make sure we're playing our game on Saturday. We've been getting stronger and stronger, and we want to get better every game we play."
