Lakeland Rustlers Weekend Recap - Oct 9, 2023
Lakeland athletics enjoyed another week of more wins than losses.
Rustlers Soccer Recap
Rustlers soccer had a solo road tilt in Edmonton against the Concordia Thunder, the top North Division team on the women's side and a group desperate to stay alive in the men's postseason respectively. The women's team fell behind 4-0 in the first half, a result that then stood for the remainder of the game.
Men's soccer also fell behind early, but were able to right the ship less than 10 minutes later, eventually winning 4-2. Hani Tekheste had a goal and an assist in the win.
Rustlers Hockey Recap
Finally, women's hockey opened their season on the road against the RDP Queens and Olds Broncos. Saturday night, the Rustlers fell behind to the home team and despite outshooting the Queens 27-21, couldn't capitalize on late game power plays, losing 4-2. The following afternoon, Lakeland scored late in the first period and twice more in the third to win 3-1. Janae Neufeld stopped 16 of 17 shots.
Rustlers Exhibition Recap
The Rustlers basketball squads hosted the Briercrest Clippers in a pair of exhibition contests, their last before the start of the regular season. The women won handily by scores of 91-59 and 74-56, utilizing the majority of their roster on court. Lakeland's men's team also swept the series, but in a much more competitive fashion, winning 87-77 and 75-72.
Men's volleyball had two road friendlies on the weekend in Edmonton and Camrose. defeating the king's Eagles 3-2 on Friday night, while losing 3-1 to the Augustana Vikings. Women's volleyball had an off weekend.
What's Coming Up
This upcoming weekend will be one of the busiest of the athletics season for Lakeland College. Basketball and volleyball both make their regular season debuts against Concordia. Friday evening, basketball have their home opener and debut the CCAA host banner for the women's tournament in March, while the 2023 CCAA Championship banner for women's volleyball will be unveiled Saturday evening. Start time for the women's contests are at 6:00 PM both days, following the respective ceremonies.
Women's hockey also makes their home debut Friday evening against the Queens at the Russ Robertson arena. Puck drop is at 7:00 pm.
And soccer hosts the last two home games of the season Saturday and Sunday evening, against the Portage Voyageurs and NAIT Ooks. The women will need to win both games to have a chance to make the playoffs, while the men sit in third and could finish anywhere between first and fourth depending on their final four games. Start times are 12:00 pm for the women's games and 2:00 pm for the men.