EDMONTON – After clinching a playoff spot on Saturday, the University of Alberta Golden Bears finishing their regular season by confirming their opponent in the conference quarter-finals after defeating the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns by a 3-0 score, Sunday afternoon at Foote Field.
Playing in their final conference home game, graduating players David Agyeman and Jermele Campbell both scored for Alberta, as did sophomore midfielder Ajay Khabra. Rookie netminder Connor James made four saves for his fourth shutout of the season.
The win puts Alberta into a tie with the Calgary Dinos for second place in the Prairie Division standings, the Bears holding the tie-breaker. With first-place Saskatchewan too far ahead for both teams and fourth- and fifth-place Lethbridge and Grant MacEwan too far behind, the two provincial rivals are guaranteed to meet in the first round of the playoffs.
Calgary still has two games left in their season, however, so any points the Dinos earn next weekend against the Lethbridge Pronghorns gives them sole possession of second place and the right to host Alberta in the quarter-finals. If Calgary loses both games, then the Bears will do the hosting on the October 24-26 weekend.
Alberta opened the scoring in Sunday's match in the 18th minute, fifth-year Campbell putting a corner kick into the Pronghorn penalty area, the ball bouncing around to a couple of players before it found its way to Agyeman, the defender heading in his first conference goal as a Golden Bear in his 43rd game with the squad.
Lethbridge tried to reply quickly after, but James held his ground in the Alberta net, giving the Bears a chance to double their lead on a free kick just on the corner of the Pronghorn penalty area in the 38th minute.
Third-year defender curled his shot around the wall and straight toward third-year 'keeper Alexei Kubeczek who found the hard kick too much to handle, the rebound jumping out to Khabra in the crease, who chipped the ball over Kubeczek for his second of the season.
Fighting for points in the standings to clinch their own post-season appearance, Lethbridge fired seven shots on the Alberta goal in the second half, but to no avail, before Campbell cemented the win with a beauty strike for the home team in the 67th minute, the graduating player's third of the year and seventh in career conference play.
Alberta awaits the results of the final regular season weekend series between the Lethbridge Pronghorns and Calgary Dinos to see if Calgary or Alberta will be hosting the other in their Battle of Alberta one-game quarter-final in two weeks.