Rustlers shut out Broncos
One-two touches and passing the ball around helped the Lakeland College Rustlers men's soccer team to their first victory of the season.
The Rustlers (1-2-1) pushed the play early against the Olds College Broncos (0-3) at VLA Field on Sunday, leading to the club rattling off two quick goals midway through the opening half.
The momentum gained off the markers got the team firing on all cylinders throughout the rest of the eventual 3-0 shutout.
"We had a strong midfield today," said Rustlers fullback Brennan Liebscher. "Everyone wanted to get on the ball. Everyone was just really amped up for the game."
The Rustlers and Broncos battled back and forth for field advantage during the opening 15 minutes, but it was the former that managed to convert the opposition zone time into opportunities.
Justus Yahyahkeekoot capitalized on the chances 20 minutes into the frame through striking the ball into an open top corner off a throw into the box from the sidelines.
Rustlers midfielder MacKenzie Longpre made the score 2-0 shortly after by wiring a shot top corner far side from just outside the penalty area.
The Broncos pushed back early in the second half, with fullback Matthew Lehouillier earning a solid chance to halve the score eight minutes into the frame on a free kick from in close, only to see the ball headed out of harm's way.
"We have a small squad, so we were probably tired," said Rustlers captain Troy Trench. "What I did is I just said 'let them come and we'll keep our composure. (Then) when we get the ball, don't run our legs too much, just knock the ball around and let the ball do the work."
Yahyahkeekoot got the momentum back when he sprung Alexis Murillo down the wing for a quality scoring chance 19 minutes into the second half, with the midfielder firing the ball just wide of the post.
A Broncos own goal helped the Rustlers to a 3-0 lead about four minutes later, when an Olds' clearing attempt into a crowd of players was kicked back into their net.
Trench said the team didn't seem to have a solid focus during the first three games of the year, but the hope is their strong performance against the Broncos can turn that around.
He said they've got six Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference regulation-season games left, and if they work as a team and concentrate on the task at hand, they should be successful.
"It's the first win of the year and we needed it," said Liebscher.
"We dropped points yesterday (a 6-0 loss to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) and going into this weekend we only had one, so this just keeps our record up with the other teams. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into the next (few) weeks and make playoffs."
Jamie Harkins, Meridian Booster