Ryan Stelter, Bison Sports
WINNIPEG – The MacEwan University Griffins defeated the University of Manitoba Bisons 1-0 at the U of M West Turf Fields in women's soccer on Saturday, Oct. 14.
With the win, MacEwan improves to 7-4-1 while Manitoba drops to 3-6-3 in Canada West conference play.
A Suekiana Choucair penalty in the 68th minute was all this match needed for the Griffins to extend their unbeaten streak to four games.
The Griffins dominated the early goings of the match, with Choucair forcing Bison goalkeeper Maddie Wilford into a save off a free kick in the second minute. The match started to open up in the middle of the first half, with both teams getting chances off the counter. Bison fullback Hayley Ward had a good chance in the 14th minute, but Griffins goalkeeper Emily Burns was equal to the task. Burns made four saves in the winning effort.
In the 37th minute, Choucair sent Meagan Lemoine in on goal, but a sliding Wilford put an end to the scoring opportunity. Wilford made 13 saves in the loss.
Manitoba nearly broke the deadlock just before halftime when Bison midfielder Hailey Lavarias sent a through ball to Sara Schur into the MacEwan 18-yard box. Griffins defender Jamie Erickson made a superb sliding tackle, however, to stymie Schur.
Choucair was at the centre for another MacEwan chance, when she sent a free kick just over the bar in the 50th minute. Five minutes later, Lemoine fed a beautiful cross to Raeghan McCarthy, but Wilford swallowed up the shot.
A penalty which caused a stir on the Bisons bench was slotted home cooly by Choucair to give the Griffins a 1-0 lead. The Griffins almost doubled their lead a few minutes later, but Kaylin Hermanutz chipped the ball just wide. Hermanutz had another chance to add insurance with a curled effort from the 18-yard box, but Wilford again was there to save it.
Manitoba threw numbers forward in the latter stages of the game to try to equalize. Perhaps their best chance came when Rebecca Martin pounced on a loose ball at the top of the 18-yard box but volleyed it over the net. The Bisons were unable to come up with a goal, dropping their second straight game.
Manitoba will wrap up their regular season on the road against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and University of Regina Cougars on Oct. 21-22. MacEwan will also finish their regular season on the road against the UBC Okanagan Heat and Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack the same weekend.