Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – What were you doing 672 days ago?
It's doubtful many can remember.
But when the MacEwan Griffins women's soccer team opens the 2021 season with a home match against cross-town rival Alberta on Saturday, it will be that long since they last played an official Canada West match, dating back to a Final Four contest on Nov. 2, 2019.
Saturday's game (12 p.m., Clareview Stadium, Canada West TV presented by Co-op) will also mark the first one for any Griffins team since March 8, 2020 (545 days).
Needless to say, the anticipation has been building for a long time.
"Reflecting on the team's atmosphere right now, we're all energetic, we're all pumped," said captain Samantha Gouveia. "We've waited almost two years now and it's great to be back competing against the best teams in Canada.
"You can tell at training, the intensity, small celebrations with goals, tackles – it's all coming together and we can't wait to debut on Saturday."
Added head coach Dean Cordeiro: "We're so excited. It's come so quick, which is a weird thing to say because it's been so long. But now it's here. We're days out and I just know the team is so excited. We've prepared really well."
With an undefeated 5-0-0 record during preseason – including a 4-0 win over UNBC at Clareview on Wednesday morning with a rookie-laden lineup – the Griffins are rocking heading into a match against the rival Pandas. MacEwan holds a 3-1-2 advantage in regular season matches between the teams since joining Canada West in 2014.
Renee DeCorby takes to the air to track down a ball against UNBC during a non-conference match last Sunday (Chris Piggott photo).
"It's two years of anticipation," said Gouveia. "We couldn't be more happier to have our cross-town rivals be the home opener. We're pumped. We know the stands are going to be filled.
"Maybe if you recall the last time we've played them there, Clareview's been pretty good to us," she added of an unforgettable 1-0 win during the 2017 season that included one of the program's most memorable game-winning goals by Brittany Costa out of the corner. "We're bumping and we're pretty excited."
While a few players remain from that time and are well versed in the nuances of the rivalry, more than half the squad is full of newcomers.
"Right now the veterans are outnumbered from the rookies 18-14," noted Gouveia. "It's funny to look at it like that. But we have such a core group that's continued to stay with us. I think experience, atmosphere and energy that the veterans bring is such a great vibe.
"We're all here for one goal. I think sharing that amongst everybody, we all feed off of it. That's what you want."
With back-to-back recruiting classes looking for their first Canada West action, Cordeiro is blessed with a perfect storm of depth in 2021.
"This is the deepest we've ever been," he said. "We got dealt a hand that nobody's ever seen before with this COVID year and players getting a year of eligibility back, so in essence we have two recruiting classes in one. But both of them are super strong and it's exciting.
"We're carrying a few more players than we normally would, but it's really making the competition at camp something that we've never seen before. At every position, the talent pool has increased and it's going to give us a lot of options throughout the season."
After scoring against UNBC last Sunday, Brianna Machado leaps into the arms of teammate Avery Brisebois, while Grace Schimpf, left, and Milica Vignjevic join in the celebration (Chris Piggott photo).
Case in point: a pair of non-conference split squad wins over UNBC last Sunday (6-0 and 5-1 wins) where all eight forwards who played – Grace Mwasalla, Nikki Brodeur, Hannon Read, Mariah Arnott, Maya Morrell, Brianna Machado, Alyx Henderson and Brenna Paquin – combined for 11 goals, each scoring at least once.
Henderson, Brodeur, Arnott and rookie midfielder Grace Schimpf also scored on Wednesday.
"When you talk about a team and the strengths, hopefully you can rely on two or three players, but when you have depth like that, it doesn't matter who's on in our front three – they're contributing," said Cordeiro, who was even resting co-leading scorer Salma Kamel. "It gives us so many options in different scenarios to go with."
That's a familiar theme across the lineup in other position groups, too.
"It's a good problem to have," noted Cordeiro. "It's stressful to have to get down to 18 players and a starting 11 every match day, but especially when we get to our back-to-back weekends we're going to see players in and out. We're not going to have to ride anybody.
"We're going to have the mindset of having fresh legs instead of tired legs. We've built that culture and mindset with the team and they get it. They're all in. We're excited about their mentality."
