Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
-With files from Alberta Athletics
EDMONTON – In a game that was a tale of two halves, the MacEwan Griffins played to a 1-1 draw with the cross-town rival Alberta Pandas on Saturday afternoon at Foote Field.
Buoyed by a pre-game senior day celebration, the Pandas came at the Griffins in the first half and took a 1-0 lead on graduating senior Brenna Mattielo's 42nd minute tally.
MacEwan found its footing in the second half, though, and tied the match on Meagan Lemoine's 61st minute tap-in. They had more chances to score – outshooting the Pandas 7-4 in the second half – but the match finished in a draw.
"It was a strong final push for us," noted MacEwan head coach Dean Cordeiro. "The first half was an emotional day for their group. It was their senior's night and they did up a pre-game (ceremony), so they were pretty fired up."
Mattielo scored after the Griffins cleared the ball out of the area but the senior trapped it at the top of the 18 and volleyed it into the side netting. The perfect shot was the only one to elude Griffins goalkeeper Emily Burns, who made six saves and was named MacEwan's player of the game.
"Emily, early on, had to make a couple of big saves," said Cordeiro. "She's always been someone we can rely on – she's a rock back there for us. Today, when the game was in question, she came up huge. We wouldn't expect anything different. Definitely a great performance by Emily today."
After the Pandas scored, it woke the Griffins up.
"We pushed and Salma Kamel had a great chance right before the break – kind of a gaping goal off a Meagan Lemoine rush – and unfortunately sailed it over the bar," noted Cordeiro. "So, we went into the break down 1-nil. Credit U of A, they made it difficult for us to get into a rhythm and play our game."
But in the second half, the Griffins went back to the basics.
"We kept the ball, we linked up and it really helped us get to where we should be in the match," said Cordeiro. "To me, we kind of took over and we responded with a goal midway through the second half.
"It was a great individual effort from Maya Morrell, who went into the game at halftime and had a huge influence on the match. She tiptoed around the keeper and directed it towards goal. Meagan Lemoine, being in the right place, right time poked it in."
With the result, MacEwan (6-1-3) remains a point ahead of Alberta (5-1-5) with a game in hand. While the Edmonton rivals were duking it out to a draw, however, Saskatchewan leapfrogged them in the standings. Thanks to a pair of wins this weekend, the Huskies now sit atop the Prairie Division standings with a 7-2-3 record and 24 points, three clear of MacEwan. The Griffins, however, have two games in hand.
One of those will be Sunday when they host Alberta in the rematch (12 p.m., Clarke Stadium). Cordeiro said the goal will be to carry over the second half momentum from Saturday into the first half on Sunday.
"We know we've got to come out and play a more complete game for 90 minutes," he said. "We've got to stick with what worked for us in the second half and have that be a constant from the start of the game throughout. If we do that, we know we're going to be OK and be where we want to be at the end of the 90. We definitely have to play our game and do it for a more sustained period of time."
