News Releases

Giesbrecht in the open field

Men’s Soccer

In a close and exciting league game (MCAC) hosted at Providence University College, the men’s soccer team took on Red River College on Saturday afternoon. Red River opened the scoring midway through the first half, but fortunately Providence responded with a goal immediately afterwards when sophomore Matt Antonio's (Winnipeg, MB) cross kick was converted by forward senior Andry Giesbrecht (Colon La Menno, Paraguay). That started a pattern as Andry scored twice more from right wing crosses fed by Matt Frischbutter (Landmark, MB). However, the Rebels were able to answer once more before halftime, scoring directly from a free kick to make it 3-2. In the second half the rebels scored once more to tie the game at 3-3 and share the points.

Sunday's game at the Waverley Soccer Complex against the University of Winnipeg was played in a gale force wind that made controlling the ball quite difficult. Playing with the wind in the first half the Wesmen scored 4 goals, and the Freemen playing without injured juniors Joel Janke (Cochabamba, Bolivia) and Mario Giesbrecht (Loma Plata, Paraguay), found it difficult to sustain much offense. With the wind as an ally in the second half, the Freemen were in their opponents half a lot more but could not break through the strong Wesmen defense. Both goalkeepers played well with Providence’s Eder Torres (San Salvador, El Salvador) bravely denying a couple of Wesmen breakaways and the Wesmen's Tyson Farago acrobatically tipping away a lobbed shot from Martial Galay (Norquay, SK) that was heading for the top corner.

Noteworthy Stats:
Andry Giesbrecht -3 goals; Matt Frischbutter -2 assists; Matt Antonio -1 assist

Women’s Soccer

Jen Derksen finds the net

In other news, the Providence Lady Freemen showed complete domination of the field right from the start in their game against Red River College. Their objective, says coach Dante Calla, was to “attack wide and play the ball through to open up and shift the Rebels defense”, which in turn successfully created multiple scoring opportunities. Freshman defender Jen Derksen (Winkler, MB) made a brilliant run by collecting Red River’s clearance 50 yards from the goal and continued on to dribble amidst Rebel defenders and finish with a fantastic goal. Another goal was chipped in by sophomore Elena Rempel (Niverville, MB) who stole the ball from her opponent and dribbled through center defenders to find the left corner of the net. Coach Calla notes, “Elena always plays tough and physical for us, and she makes it hard for those defending her because she knows how to use her body to get the ball”. In another fantastic effort, veteran player Meghan Edwards (Nainimo, BC) followed up several runs off of goal attempts, and when Rebels’ goalkeeper mishandled the ball, Edwards was there to tap it in to put Providence up 3-0.

The second half was started right where the Freemen left off. Allison Dueck (Niverville, MB) had one of the most beautiful finishes of the year as she cut in from the left side and took a right footed shot from the corner of the 18 and curled the ball into the top, right corner of the net. A fifth and final goal was added when freshman Breanne Mahara (Fannystelle, MB) faked out Rebel opponents and set up the ball in good position at the top of the 18 where Ruth Shantz (Plymouth, England) dribbled in and powered a ball into the net leaving Rebels’ goalkeeper no chance.

The following day, the Lady Freemen faced the University of Winnipeg and both teams came prepared to play. Despite the outcome for Providence (5-0 loss), coach Calla was impressed with the mental toughness his team showed against the advantageous CIS level team. He comments, “Our girls did not play fearful and they cut down four goals from the first time we played the Wesmen.” He was pleased with how each player contributed and is improving every game.

Noteworthy Stats:
Jen Derksen -1 goal; Elena Rempel -1 goal; Meghan Edwards -1 goal; Allison Dueck -1 goal; Ruth Shantz -1 goal; Breanne Mahara -1 assist.

Next Action:

The Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference Championships take place this upcoming weekend October 22nd & October 23rd, 2011 at Red River College. Cheer on the teams as:
Providence Women challenge CMU @ 10:00am Saturday (semi-final) & Providence Men challenge RRC @ 12:00pm Saturday (semi-final).